PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar’s promise to residents of Hampton Court, Windsor Castle and Sparta that a mobile pump will be installed to bring relief to them has become reality within hours of the announcement.

Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth said the pump promised by the President was deployed immediately to the Essequibo Coast from Georgetown, and set up at Hampton Court near the sluice. The CEO said the pump is in full operation to drain flood water from residential and farming areas at Hampton Court and other surrounding villages.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jarvis, who visited the Hampton Court and Windsor Castle sluices yesterday said the NDIA, under the direction of the CEO is conducting an operation to ensure that water accumulated on the land is moved off. The PS said the areas affected by the flooding are suffering from the deposition of mud on the foreshore that is hampering the flow of water through sluices and channels.

The Permanent Secretary said the hydro flow pump that is installed near the sluice is a temporary measure. He assured that the two excavators on the pontoon in the Atlantic Ocean will continue to clear the outfall channels at Hampton Court and Devonshire Castle. Mr. Jarvis said the NDIA has been very proactive on the ground since the flood started.
Region 2 Chairman, Parmanand Persaud, who gave an update on the flood situation between the villages of Walton Hall and Devonshire Castle, said the flood water has receded by some five inches in two days. The Chairman said if there is no rain for the next two days, the water will recede off the land very quickly. He however pointed out that water is flowing down from the high lands very quickly.
Mr. Persaud commended the NDIA for getting hydro flow pumps very quickly to the Essequibo Coast to bring relief to residents in flooded villages.
The Chairman also commended and thanked residents of Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, Sparta and Devonshire Castle for coming out and assisting to help stir the sling so that the channels of the sluices can be cleared.
The Windsor Castle sluice is back in operation after residents volunteered to help stir the mud that had blocked the channels. Reports said several women of the villages also cooked food and supplied it to the men who helped to clear the channels.

(Rajendra Prabhulall in Essequibo)