Dear Editor,
A contractor from the Drainage and Irrigation Department of the Region 2 administration is employed to weed trenches here, but instead of doing that along a 200-odd metre stretch alongside my farm by the canal dam area at Onderneeming, this portion is only being sprayed to kill the grass.
For years now, this type of work has been going on with the stretch at the head of a drainage trench becoming very clogged up so the water cannot recede. Whenever it rains heavily my farm, which is the only source of income for myself and my family, becomes inundated because of the lack of proper drainage. As a consequence, my plants perish resulting in severe losses through no fault of my own.
During a recent farmers’ meeting at Riverstown Nursery School, my concerns about having the stretch cleared were raised with Vice-Chairman Vishnu Samaroo, pointing out that a Hymac was available to do the job but that the Region did not have an operator for the machine. Luckily, there and then, an operator was identified, but after several months, the job still remains undone, much to my detriment. The clearing of this stretch is the only way to save my crops, and I do expect that immediate steps would be taken to have this done.
What is puzzling to me is who approved the work as having been properly done when it was being sprayed.
Yours faithfully,
Sohan Seemangal
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Mr Sunil Singh, the Regional Executive Officer, Region 2 for any comment he might wish to make.
