WATER and water purification tablets are currently being transported to the secondary school dormitories in Annai and Sand Creek, Region 9 (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo) by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). These, and other efforts, come in response to a dry spell that the Region has been experiencing for quite some time now.

Reports are that many wells are being dried up and the situation in Lethem is as such that residents are resorting to placing pumps on the Government’s line which slows up the pressure that reaches households.
“It is very, very dry in Lethem,” one Lethem resident told this newspaper, adding, “It is normally dry in Lethem but the situation has gotten worse for the past three to four months. The Government well is also drying up also. This one is deeper than the rest so people resort to feeding off it which slows up the pressure. So due to the increasing demand on this line, the pressure has reduced. In fact, some places which have never dried up are now dry.”
But Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO), Karl Singh, would not describe the situation as a drought but would call it a long dry spell.
According to him, in an invited comment, all villagers still have water and creeks that are not entirely dry. “Most villagers have hand-dug wells and these are the ones mostly affected,” he offered, as he drew attention to climate change which is responsible for the unpredictable weather pattern.
The well belonging to the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) is the one that is in use right now.
Last Tuesday, he said the Region experienced rainfall from about 7:30 hrs to 11:00hrs and that he is hoping for things to get back to normal soon.
He said the CDC is in the location presently and is looking at transporting water and purification tablets to the secondary schools dormitories at Annai and Sand Creek. “If things get worse, the first thing we will have to look at is filling the needs of the dormitories because school has to go on,” he said.
A Disaster Management Committee is also in place and meetings are conducted regularly, he said.
Meanwhile, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, at his usual post-Cabinet press briefing, said Cabinet has recently mandated the CDC to coordinate efforts to bring relief to residents of Region 9 and parts of Region 1 (Barima/Waini), as they face drought conditions in their communities due to low levels of rainfall.
He stated that due to unseasonably low amounts of rainfall, parts of the two regions, as well as the north eastern section of Brazil have been hard hit by drought conditions. He noted that in addition to a lack of water, there has been the resurgence of pests which were attacking what little crops remained that were minimally affected by the drought.
The CDC, Dr. Luncheon revealed, will coordinate with the Ministries of Amerindian Affairs, Local Government, Housing and Water, Public Works and Guyana Water Inc. in their efforts to bring relief to the affected communities.
This will be done by sourcing water from accessible rivers and other sources and via the use of tractors and trailers with black tanks, traversing the area and providing water to residents, he added.
It has been reported to Cabinet that most wells have dried up and the water table is “so low that shallow wells were at this point, inaccessible”, Dr. Luncheon said. The intervention will continue for the duration of persisting drought conditions.

By Telesha Ramnarine