Khan promises relief for Caroni flood victims

Five days after several parts of Caroni, Warrenville, Kelly Village, Madras Road, El Carmen and surrounding areas got flooded out when the Caroni River burst its banks, Minister of Works Franklin Khan and a contingent of officers from the Ministry of Works toured the flood prone areas to get a first-hand look at the problems. At the end of the three-hour long tour, Khan promised affected residents a major ease from massive flooding in the near future. Khan was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Jarette Narine and Minister of Community Development Joan Yuille-Williams, and officials from the Drainage Division. The tour which started promptly at 9 am ended at 12.30 during a heavy downpour. Several of the major rivers, drains and water courses were viewed by the touring party.

Residents told Khan some of the drains and rivers have not been cleaned for years and are covered with bushes, water lillies and shrubs. The minister conceded that some parts of Central have been neglected by the Drainage Division, but assured that every effort was now being made to put a stop to the widespread flooding. He appealed to residents to do their part by desisting from throwing garbage, debris and rubbish into rivers and drains. Construction of the Mamoral Dam will begin in the next fiscal year at a cost of $110 million, and the dam is expected to significantly reduce perennial flooding in Central.

Khan noted that the ministry had already constructed a major embankment from Kelly Village to St Helena. He added that when the Caroni River burst its banks last week, the water spilled over the embankment. He said he believed if the embankment was not built, the recent flooding in Caroni would have been much worse. Khan revealed he was given a directive by Prime Minister Patrick Manning to ensure that flooding was significantly reduced in Caroni and surrounding areas. Parliamentary Representative for the area Ganga Singh, and Councillor for Warrenville, Shama Deonarine, were also part of the tour. They expressed guarded optimism about the promises made by the minister.