Constant downpours cause widespread flooding
By Shawnel Cudjoe
Guyana Chronicle
January 1, 2005
GUYANESE are ringing in the new year on a rainy note, after constant downpours over the past four days caused many parts of the city, and to some extent, the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara, to remain under water.
The extensive flooding of the city caused many businesses to lose sales and forced a high level team of government officials to visit the country's pumps and kokers yesterday morning.
The team of officials comprised Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Mr. Anthony Xavier, Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Mr. Clinton Collymore, Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Georgetown Mr. Hamilton Green and Robert Williams respectively, Chief City Engineer Mr. Cephas James, and Town Clerk Ms. Buelah Williams.
The team of officials visited the various pumps including the Kitty and Liliendaal Pump Stations, and the Princes Street and Cowan Street, Kingston kokers which were all functioning effectively. However, visits to the Lamaha Street and the Sussex Streets kokers revealed that they were not functioning effectively and were in need of repairs.
At the Riverview koker there was no attendant at the site and only one door was opened. Some 15 minutes after the visit, the attendant arrived seemingly under the influence of alcohol and opened the other door at the insistence of Ministry Officials.
Minister Xavier, speaking to the media afterwards, said that in his opinion, the main cause of the severe flooding was the garbage being dumped in the city's canals.
He pointed out that the pump at Liliendaal was forced to stop working since garbage coming from the direction of the railway embankment blocked the grill.
"Guyanese need to understand that every time they litter... with the styrofoam boxes... they only make the matter worse," Xavier said.
Chief City Engineer James said that his department is under-financed and unable to carry out its tasks efficiently and effectively because of this. However, Minister Xavier pointed out that the Council received $400 million in rates and taxes from Government.
The Engineer further noted that there are better ways to tackle the problem and several recommendations were made to the Mayor, but nothing was done. Minister Collymore then suggested that these recommendations should be formally presented so that the Local Government Ministry may be aware of them.
City Council reassurance
In a release, the Mayor and City Council said that it has deployed requisite manpower and machinery to deal with the flood situation in the City. The release said that all six pumps were in operation and the engineers were working feverishly to alleviate the situation.
The release further stated that the flood was a direct result of an unusual excessive amount of rainfall in the City, compounded by the fact that the koker cannot be opened because of the high tide.
"The City Engineers Department is working assiduously to bring some relief,” the release said, and added that the results of those efforts should have been visible by midday yesterday.
For most of the day, Charlotte Street, Lacytown, and Regent Streets were heavily flooded, causing businesses to lose sales since customers were unable to gain entry to the stores.
A representative of Modern Hair Salon located on Charlotte Street told this newspaper that the flooding severely hampered operations especially early in the day. She said that because persons were unable to gain access to the building, they lost business. However, as the water lessened, "business seemed to be picking up".
The owner of Shamdas Kirpalani located on Regent Street said that it was the second flood his business had suffered within a week. On Sunday last, about $200 000 worth of goods was lost because of flooding. He told this newspaper that this time around, they were prepared for the heavy rainfalls and did not lose so much.
"Nevertheless, we lost a lot of business, because for the entire morning customers could not come into the store," he said.
Other areas which suffered as a result of the flooding were Quamina Streets, Bel Air, Church Street, Light Street, Main Street, Providence and Bagotstown on the East Bank Demerara (EBD). Victoria, Haslington, Golden Grove, Mon Repos and other villages on the East Coast Demerara were also flooded.
The Bourda Market was also under water for the past two days, with many stall holders losing goods as a result. The National Cultural Centre (NCC) also suffered the worst flood after many years, with as much as five feet of water in the building.