‘Green water in my yard’

An elderly woman who is a resident of Tennant Trace, Woodland is calling on the authorities to help her deal with floodwaters settling on her property.

Kamla Singh, 70, who is suffering from arthritis and other ailments is forced to live in her wooden structure with stagnant waters around it. When Sunday Newsday visited Singh yesterday she was on the brink of tears.

“I am fed up of complaining to the authorities. Every day I see cracks in my house and there are rats and other rodents running around,” Singh said.

She pointed out that the water in her front yard has turned green. A Hindu, Singh also said she cannot go to her place of worship, where jandhis (bamboo flags) are erected because it is submerged in water.

Singh visited the Penal Debe Regional Corporation and councillor Doodnath Mayrhoo, but she got no relief. She said this issue with water gathering around her house started in 2001 when landowners started back-filling the area to build houses. “This back-fill causes the water to bounce back into my property and then it has nowhere to go,” she said.

When contacted, Mayrhoo said there is nothing the regional corporation can do to push the water out of Singh’s property.

“This area is badly affected by the floodwaters and clearing drains on Tennant Street will not help the situation,” Mayrhoo said. After last year’s heavy flooding, Mayrhoo said he wrote the Ministry of Works and got a reply that they will come up with a comprehensive plan to channel the water that is stagnant on Tennant Street and Pluck Road. After Works Minister and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan visited the area, he said, officials indicated they will bring in equipment, including pumps, to drain the water out of the area.

In October last year, more than 2,500 households in Woodland and surrounding areas were severely affected by flooding. Householders lost foods crops and household items. Many were marooned in their homes, and received food and clothing from those who visited to give charity.

Mayrhoo said Sinanan and Rural Development and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein, on a visit then, promised residents to fix the problem of poor drainage and clogged watercourses .

“We are in August and already there is heavy rainfall and flooding,” Mayrhoo said, adding he hopes Government delivers on their promise and clear the watercourses, install pumps and build the drains for the people of Woodland.