Monday, February 8 2010

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RUBBISH IN THE DRAIN: Grass and rubbish including an old tyre clog this drain off Mt Pleasant Road in Springvale, Claxton Bay. ...

RICHARD MOKUND of Springvale, Claxton Bay, is calling on Government to clear the rubbish and silt filled drains in his community to help alleviate flooding in the area.

Mokund said ever since he could remember, his community had been affected by flooding mainly due to clogged drains

Looking at a drain at Mt Pleasant Road in Springvale yesterday, Mokund explained that it only takes 15 minutes of rainfall for flooding to start. He said that with the onset of the dry season, the time is right for these drains to be cleared of silt, rubbish and even grass which has grown in many of them.

“I am living here over 30 years now and the problem is always here. Politicians came and looked at the drains and made promises, especially around election time, but thirty years have come and gone and nothing has been done,” Mokund said.

“Last year with the heavy rainfall, nine cars were flooded out in the garage where I work,” he added.

Another resident said while the authority is somewhat responsible for the flooding by not regularly cleaning and maintaining the drains, he said some residents were exacerbating the problem by dumping rubbish into the drains.

To make things worse, the resident said, sand from a nearby quarry quickly fills the drains causing a blockage of the water way and when rain falls, water backs up onto the road and into the yards of people’s homes.

Councillor Premnath Ramnath of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation yesterday confirmed that the flooding problem there was an ongoing one but defended the corporation by saying workers have been doing all within their power to rectify the problem, but it was just not enough.

“There has always been erosion there especially when the rain falls and the sand fills the drains.

The corporation is aware of it and we try our best with the limited manpower and resources we have. Some areas are more affected than others.” Ramnath said.

He proposed that the Works and Transport Ministry intervene and carry out a comprehensive assessment of the drains in the area to ease the situation.