FOR years residents of Alberttown, Georgetown have been plagued by excessive flooding during the rainy season, so residents of Sixth Street came together in a cleanup campaign recently with the aim of alleviate this problem.

It is the hope of those involved that other areas will take up the mantle with similar exercises to make their communities ready for torrential rains.
Residents of Sixth Street pooled cash and came out in their numbers last Sunday to remove silt and debris from the drains. And the Guyana Fire Service on short notice assisted by lending a fire tender and manual labour to pump water out of drains so that it would be easier to remove the silt and refuse which was expected to be taken away by municipal sanitation employees.
Speaking on behalf of the neighbourhood Community Development Association, spokesperson Carl Brandon said it is hoped that other areas would use the venture as motivation to cleanup their communities. He added that the presence of the new chikungunya mosquito-borne disease is also a major factor that promoted the cleanup up exercise.
He explained that they believe that their efforts will also be recognized by Government, and further assistance would be made available to have the entire Alberttown District cleaned up.
Residents in Sixth Street also explained that this area is ‘like a basin’ and floods easily after even brief showers. Many noted that a buildup of construction waste in the area and the clogged Church Street canal contributed in many cases to the flooding of their area.