Flood of complaints for Agri Minister on Corentyne

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud was greeted with a series of complaints from residents about  acts of mismanagement by NDCs and officials yesterday when he visited several flood-affected communities on the Corentyne.

Residents of Alness share their views with the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud (right).
Residents of Alness share their views with the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud (right).

Scores of residents, particularly farmers flocked the Minister when he and a team of Technical Officers, headed by CEO of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth, visited six communities. Region Six Chair-man Zulfikar Mustapha and PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar were also part of the contingent.

When the Minister visited the Black Push Polder area, the farmers on hand said that the water has not gone down even after two weeks of inundation.

Animals left to roam in the floodwaters were a common sight during yesterday’s visit by the Minister.
Animals left to roam in the floodwaters were a common sight during yesterday’s visit by the Minister.

Those gathered were very upset at the actions of a senior official of the Rice Producers Association, who they said breached a neighbouring dam, making an already bad situation worse. According to the farmers, the official broke the dam in spite of the protests from the farmers and informed them that nobody could do him anything. The Minister instructed the Regional Chairman to get an excavator and repair the breach by yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Persaud told residents that the government is working assiduously towards addressing the drainage system in Black Bush Polder. He said that the area is part of the Agricultural Support Services Project which is funded by the IDB. He said that about US$1M will be spent next year towards rehabilitating the drainage in the area which will reduce the likelihood of flooding.

Over at Chesney, residents complained bitterly about the foul-smelling water which has accumulated in their environs over the past two weeks. One couple Takram and Darow Birbal told this newspaper that during this period their lives have been severely affected. One of the main concerns was the condition of their animals, which had no choice but to dwell in the water. The couple has developed several makeshift pens to house their animals but said that they needed further assistance.  The couple admitted that the rainfall in the area had been abnormal but insisted that more could be done to ameliorate the situation.

When Stabroek News was in this community, an excavator was engaged in empoldering work. According to reports, this community has been affected by the overtopping of the dams from water coming from  GuySuCo’s operations. However, residents were assured that the best possible efforts were being made to remedy this situation. The Minister said that although empoldering work was going on, additional pumps were being brought in to help drain off the water.

One resident questioned why this work was only now being done, when the floodwaters had already hit the community.

Over at Alness, the situation was more positive for the residents.  According to those residents who gathered to meet with the delegation, the water in the community has dropped significantly since a hymac was deployed to the area. Residents, however, raised concerns about the construction of a new koker in the area, which they said is being built too close to the shore.  Persaud said that a few residents should meet with the construction team as well as the engineers from his ministry to determine the best location for the koker. This assessment is slated to take place on Monday.

Meanwhile, another complaint was that a dam which had been built in the area had been destroyed by a private company, which had removed the dam top.

When this matter was raised with the NDC Chairman John Parks, he said that it was difficult to monitor the activities of the private companies in the area. Consequently, he said that much damage was done to property without the knowledge of the Council.

Residents of Belvedere complained bitterly to the Minister during his visit to the community.

This community too has been flooded for approximately two weeks and they say the water levels are not reducing. Several farmers complained about having lost a lot of their crops and livestock.Meanwhile, he pro-mised that his engineers will be reassessing the situation in the community  in order to ascertain the best way to drain the water off the land.

Up to the time of the Minister’s visit, no medical team had entered the community to deliver medical supplies. Persaud, however, promised the residents that the team would arrive later in the morning.

The Agricultural Minster promised that his veterinary officials will visit the communities and examine the animals and provide medical and other supplies where necessary.

According to Persaud, over $2M in emergency supplies had been purchased on Tuesday to cater for the needs of the different communities. He also promised that after the flood, his ministry will assist the farmers with seeds.