Residents of flood-prone areas in South Oropouche are expressing frustration at the lack of progress in desilting projects in their region despite Government’s claims of engaging contractors for more than 500 projects nationwide.
The South Oropouche River, which flows into the Gordineau River, was listed for desilting works. However, according to Edward Moodie, president of the South Oropouche Riverine Flood Action Group, less than four kilometres of the river has been properly desilted.
Standing on the banks of the river yesterday, Moodie pointed out insufficient work, stating: “If this river was desilted, you would see the silt on the banks of the river. Show me where it was desilted because all they did was grub the river, which is to take out the overgrown vegetation on the river.”
Moodie said the majority of the desilting work has been focused on north Trinidad, with very little progress in the south. He said based on data provided by Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, only three projects were completed between Moruga and the Godineau bridge, one of the main outflows of the South Oropouche Drainage Basin.
“This river is 42 kilometres long, which means 84 kilometres of river banks, and only four they did? This is insufficient and it means a total disaster waiting to happen,” he said
Moodie also expressed concern about the lack of projects on the Curomata River, the second-largest river in South Oropouche, which has not been desilted.
In recent months, villagers have been appealing for repairs to river banks to mitigate flooding in the region. Adesh Singh, president of the Woodland Flood Action Group, mentioned breaches in the banks of the New Cut Channel that require urgent fortification before the arrival of heavy rains.
Oropouche West MP Davendranath Tancoo said the Works Ministry’s efforts were inadequate and focused on superficial actions, such as removing water lilies and vegetation, rather than effectively desilting the rivers. He said no work was done on the Curomata River.
“There seems to be a lack of interest in alleviating the suffering of the people in Oropouche West,” he said.
“The Minister says 100 per cent of work has been done, but grubbing the area cannot be all that is required to prevent flooding. No work was done in the Curomata River, and that is frightening because it tells me that the Ministry is not interested in alleviating the suffering of the people of Oropouche West.”
Minister Sinanan did not respond to requests for comment yesterday. In response to a question in the Senate on May 31, he provided a breakdown of works completed between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022. At the time, he said the total number of projects was 668.
