In the wake of last week’s spring tide flooding, Chair-man of the La Bonne Intention/Better Hope Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Thakur Persaud says the rates and taxes collected are insufficient for the amount of work needed like clearing drains.
Responding to claims by residents of Montrose, Vryheid’s Lust and Better Hope that had the council cleared the drains the flooding would not have been so severe, Persaud said that the money allocated to the council was insufficient and with the lack of resources and machinery was “like a basket to fetch water”.
In an interview with Stabroek News yesterday the NDC chairman declared that in the space of three hours, when the spring tides leapt over the seawall in the early hours of Good Friday, water had accumulated to at least three feet. He said that there was no way that the drainage system could have coped with that amount of water as the design catered for the accumulation of four to five inches of water per day. He asserted that even so the water ran off quickly. As for residents’ claims that the drains were not kept clear by the council, Persaud contended that the drains were “reasonably clear” and stated that the council cleaned the system at least three times per year. He acknowledged that the emergency clearing of the drains after the first spring-tide assisted in the water moving off the land quicker and declared that the NDC did some work to assist in clearing the drains after the flooding. He said that the NDC was not “asleep” and he had been alerted to the situation as it was occurring.
But he argued that the taxes collected were less than what was needed and with the high cost of materials he said that it “can’t work out”. He said that for the past five years taxes were not increased and with the rising labour and material costs, this was not enough. Maintaining that the council did not have the resources, he said that even so work such as road repairs and bush clearing was done and will continue to be undertaken. He noted that the annual $3M given to the council by the government was insufficient to cater to the needs of the people, many of whom felt that their concerns were the more pressing. Noting that the taxes collected were insufficient too he said that if residents gave half a day’s labour to assist in clearing drains and bushes, then the council’s money could be stretched. “What them ah pay is impossible for what we can do”, he said. He pointed out that some of the residents caused obstruction of the drainage system by building structures over them and also dumping garbage indiscriminately and declared that the lessons of the 2005 Great Flood seem not to have been learnt.
As to the question of persons building structures such as bridges on reserves, Persaud said that while the council had responsibility for areas within the villages, the reserves alongside the public road were the responsibility of the Roads Division of the Ministry of Public Works. He said that in those areas where the council had control, it was difficult to carry out their duty. “While it’s our responsibility, it’s difficult to carry out our mandate because they (residents) oppose it”, he declared adding that “it’s not like we’re not taking down structures”. Noting that the building of the structures was illegal he asserted that many times it was done overnight and when the council attempted to dismantle these, they were bitterly opposed by residents.
Approved design
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture in a release on Monday stated that businesses and residents whose structures were removed as part of the drainage relocation and improvement in the Montrose/Vryheid’s Lust/Better Hope area must first seek permission and receive an approved design from either the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority or the Ministry of Public Works Road Division. “The NDC or any other body is not allowed to issue any permit for these structures unless they have been cleared by the central government agencies”, the release had said. Quizzed about this Persaud said that the council did not give permission for such structures to be built. “We never issue any permits”, he stated emphasizing that the structures that were destroyed in the clearing of drains on the public road was the responsibility of the Public Works Ministry.
As to the question of garbage collection, the Chairman noted that the council’s tractor and trailer were utilized for this purpose but the area to be covered was large and said that collection was done at least once per month. Residents had told this newspaper that garbage was hardly ever collected and they utilized a private contractor and argued that the collection of refuse was one of the services supposed to be provided by the council and for which they paid their taxes. Persaud pointed out too that there was no dumpsite close by and the garbage collection had to be transported to the Lusignan back dam.
Meantime, in the three villages yesterday, the clean-up was continuing with furniture still haphazardly arranged in the yards of some residents. The huge piles of mud and garbage cleared from the drains and placed on the sides of the roads were smaller as these were being cleared and Persaud stated that this was what was being focused on by the council for the present. The clearing of the drain on the northern side of the East Coast Demerara highway at the three villages was ongoing and homeowners and businesses, most of which were closed, were building or improving makeshift bridges hastily put up to access their homes since their bridges were destroyed in the clearing of the drain. Some residents, who had not been receiving running water in the wake of the flood, said that the supply had been restored. Youths were seen fishing in the cleared trenches and caught quite a few fishes.
Concern was also expressed at the state of the embankment behind the seawall, portions of which were washed away. Personnel apparently from the Sea Defence Unit were in the area taking measurements.
The Agriculture Ministry’s Monday press release had stated that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will continue to support the implementation of the Ministry of Public Works’ mandate to clear road and other reserves which are encumbering the roadways and limiting effective drainage of residential and farming communities across the country. The release said that on Monday a team of veterinary officers distributed veterinary supplies and seeds to affected farmers while a vaccination exercise was set to commence yesterday and technical officers would be made available.
Since the overtopping on Good Friday, which occurred twice that day, the water did not come as much over the wall again, residents reported.
