With several parts of Guyana being underwater due to heavy rains over the weekend, Chairman of the Region Four Regional Democratic Council, Daniel Seeram, is insisting that new mechanisms beyond the use of pumps and sluice be used to prevent future flooding in Georgetown
Speaking during an assessment of flood areas in and outside of Region Four, Chairman Seeram noted that while pumps and sluice are in place to withdraw water off the land, over time those methods have proven to be helpful outside of Georgetown.
But they are not enough to prevent a problem that Guyana continues to be plagued within the capital city.
“We have to find a better way to attack the issues of flooding in Georgetown. Waking up on a Sunday morning after you have seen that we have been doing a good job, the fact that the floods are here is very sad.
“We have noted flooding in the entire south of Georgetown, East Ruimveldt, West Ruimveld, North Ruimveldt, Alexander Village, Albouystown, the Sophia area, Prashad Negar, and some areas in Kitty. It’s just a very sad situation and we have to do better,” Seeram said.
Over the years Guyana, which consists of most of the population settling on the coastal region, has been faced with the same problem of flooding each time when there is heavy rainfall.
While recognizing this issue, the Government and other stakeholders have used the sluice and pump to mitigate flooding.
This system, however, while being helpful at times, has had its failures some pumps remain non-functional. There are also damaged sluices. Adding to such, even with most of the mechanisms being active, several parts of Guyana continue to be flooded and as such, Chairman Seeram is seeking to add to these mechanisms more solutions are needed to mitigate the loss of millions due to flood. The solution he said must be a multi stakeholder’s response.
“It is sad to say that this is not new to us in Georgetown but it is something that we must work together as Central Government, Regional Government, and Local Government in order to eradicate this with the municipalities.”
Seeram added, “When it comes to drainage of the region it is a multi-stakeholder initiative; it takes the central Government, the Regional Government, and the local democratic organs.
“Also with them is the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority with Guysuco because for the East Coast they have some level of authority over the pumps and the drainage facility.
“When we go and see a facility or an infrastructure that needs to be rehabilitated or so, we have to activate the necessary mechanism to have the institution informed, and then we have the works done.”
In Region Four, there are 56 pumps with 48 currently working, 25 sluices on the east coast with 21 workings. With some mechanisms not working some mobile pumps would have been used.
