City Council, Ministry of Works should remove broken uprights from Ruimvelt drain to stop flooding and prevent accidents

Dear Editor,

Many persons have written on the blockage of the trenches in Ruimveldt which causes flooding when there is rain. According to the news recently, people were amazed to see a man running on the stuff in the West Ruimveldt Front Road trench.

In my area water is drained through the culvert at the corner of Hunter Street and Mandela Avenue. The water would trickle out when the sluice gate is opened at falling tide; however the concrete uprights at the two ends of the culvert have broken off and collapsed blocking the water from the drains from reaching the trench. In addition, a hole has formed at one end of the culvert where the upright has collapsed; the hole is inches away from the wheels of moving vehicles and could be a death trap if a driver has cause to swerve at this point.

I am appealing to the relevant departments (City Council and Ministry of Works) to urgently remove the broken uprights from the drain and the trench in order to obviate the pending danger and enable the water to flow through the culvert. A little rain now results in prolonged flooding, even in my house. As I write this letter my yard is flooded with four inches of water. I look forward to an early remedy to this situation.

Yours faithfully,

T Ramsaran