Major city canals clean-up proposed
-- floods delay burials
Guyana Chronicle
January 4, 2005
THE task force looking at the causes of the flood that hit the city last week has recommended a major canal cleanup covering some five square miles in Georgetown.
This main recommendation was submitted Sunday to President Bharrat Jagdeo by the task force which he set up to deal with flooding in the city, Transport and Hydraulics Minister, Mr. Anthony Xavier, told the Chronicle yesterday.
The proposal is to comprehensively clean all street and alleyway drains in the major wards of the city, he said.
The clean-up campaign should cover Kitty, Kingston, North Ruimveldt, North East La Penitence, Werk-en-Rust, South Ruimveldt, Lacytown, among other areas, Xavier said.
"We are standing by and as soon as the President gives the go ahead, the clean-up will begin", he said.
He added that the group has recommended that the contract to clear the canals be awarded to private contractors, but the work would be supervised by Central Government and City Council officials.
Xavier, a member of the task force, said he and a team yesterday checked the John Fernandes sluice and another in Urquhart Street, Cummingsburg, where the trash racks which trap debris from the running water, were removed.
The minister said he was astonished at the huge amount of plastic and other solid waste that was removed and within five minutes, the water level in the trenches fell some three inches.
He projected that this exercise would help drain the remaining water from several parts of the city.
The persistent rainfall over the past nine days which led to heavy flooding throughout the city, has also caused burials scheduled at Le Repentir cemetery to be postponed.
The cemetery has been under water since Friday.
An official of the Merriman's Funeral Home said that one funeral which was scheduled for Friday, was postponed to yesterday, bringing the tally to three.
Funeral Director/Manager, Mrs. Patricia Merriman, told this newspaper that the situation was frustrating to families as well as employees.
She said that although most families have not been in to discuss their payments, because of the situation, a compromise may be reached.
"We have a fixed storage price per day, and although this situation is not their (families) fault, neither is it ours, we may be able to work something out".
She pointed out that although they sympathised with the families, the funeral home still has the responsibility of paying its electricity bills. She said that at this point, most of the families are more emotionally than financially concerned about the situation.
According to Merriman, the situation is inconveniencing to the staff since their whole day is taken up trying to explain to families why their dead cannot be buried.
She said they have no choice but to wait on the go ahead from cemetery officials, since the watery situation is unhygienic.
Ashton and Debra Funeral Home also said that three of their burials had to be postponed because the cemetery was flooded. (SHAWNEL CUDJOE)