Wismar residents continuing to suffer from flooding

Residents of Wismar, Linden continue to experience flooding due to the absence of a koker door and have complained that regional officials are mum on when the problem would be rectified.

On Friday last, residents said that they woke up to flooded surroundings. They also told this newspaper that the koker has been without a door for over a year.

Efforts to contact Region Ten Chairman Renis Morian proved futile yesterday as all calls went unanswered.

A resident of First Alley told Stabroek News yesterday that the floodwaters are rising sometimes twice a day. “This morning place flood and tonight again it gon flood again.

A flooded street in Wismar, Linden

Right now water take over my concrete. Night and day this is wah we going through. It ain’t easy. In me yard you could travel around in a little boat because deh got enough water to push you around.”

She added that, “people from the clinic and region came around and give out one bottle of marvex. Wah marvex could do? The yards rank through here and I am hearing Silvertown and Christianburg deh worse. They need to give us something to spray out the place because the mosquitoes are starting to settle in the water,” the woman said.

While other residents are attempting to “bail” out the water from their homes, the woman said that she would not be attempting to do so given the condition of the water around her home and yard. “Is a brown muddy thing.  Me hand ain’t going in the because is gutter water plus deh got a set of latrines and pigs around here.”

Another resident also said that the koker door has not been in place for over a year and as a result residents around the area are always hard hit by the floods. “Right now the water coming up. Is a year now the koker door don’t lock so whenever the creek swell we does flood out. I keep bailing out the water steady but the ain’t mekin sense.

They really need to fix the koker door.”

Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland in an invited comment yesterday said that the council is currently in discussion with the Linden Electricity Corporation and medical personnel. “We are in contact with the electricity corporation so that they can go into the area to ensure that no one gets shocked and also to check out those persons who were severely affected.” He also said that the council is trying to get hampers to distribute to persons who were affected by the floods.

On Sunday, Byron Kendall, the District Community Development Officer attached to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority had acknowledged that First, Second and Third Alleys are experiencing flooding owing to the absence of a koker door.