Woodland residents are renewing their call for urgent action before the rainy season begins, pleading for the immediate cleaning of rivers, the desilting of the New Cut Channel, and the potential relocation of farmers vulnerable to perennial flooding.
In the Woodland area, particularly Puzzle Island, where more than 50 farmers tend to over 60 acres of land, cattle farmer Phagoo Dan expressed deep concern over the impact of the upcoming wet season.
“I know we will get real floods because they have to clear the rivers. The New Cut Channel needs desilting because since the bank breached, the river bed raise so the river is now shallow so it cannot take the flow of water we will get when the rains come,” Dan said.
He recounted the recent loss of seven cows due to saltwater infiltration from the rivers, attributing their deaths to malfunctioning floodgates.
As he fed a calf, whose mother died, Dan expressed anxiety over safeguarding his livestock from impending floods.
“I really don’t know what to do. While I have a pen to keep my cows on higher ground during floods, I don’t know how many will survive because this year’s flooding will be severe because the rivers were not cleared and the river banks were not fixed,” he lamented.
Another farmer, Anirudh Boodram, appealed to Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein for relocation assistance, emphasising that farming was their sole means of income.
Boodram said he hoped to harvest his crops before the anticipated floods arrive in June.
“The dysfunctional floodgate and breached banks spell trouble for us. We are begging the Minister of Agriculture to help us by giving us new farming lands to cultivate,” he added.
Gowtam Maharaj, Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, who spoke with the farmers highlighted the neglected state of various watercourses, including the Grand Rivere Channel, Chinibass Channel, and Jack Nyron Channel. He urged collaborative efforts between the Ministries of Agriculture and Works to address the situation promptly.
Maharaj also called on Planning Minister Pennelope Beckles to give an update on the US$10 million grant, which was given for flood mitigation in the South Oropouche River Basin.
“Right now the #14 gate is non-functional. The base of the gates has been rotted. The river is silted up and the water is not able to get out. This embankment breach is a concern for farmers,” Maharaj said.
Guardian Media sought responses from Works Minister Rohan Sinanan regarding the progress on waterway maintenance in the South Oropouche Drainage Basin, and from Minister Beckles regarding the use of the flood mitigation grant. Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein was also contacted but no responses were received up to late yesterday evening.