-REO thankful for support from businesses
By Indrawattie Natram
THE Region Two administration has successfully distributed 1,650 food hampers to flood-affected areas, and, as donations pour in, the business community is being lauded for its help thus far.
Regional Executive Officer (REO), Devanand Ramdatt, told the Guyana Chronicle that rigorous efforts are being made to ensure that those who have been severely affected by the floodwater are provided with ration and cleaning supplies.
Food hampers were sent on Monday to the Karawab, an Amerindian community in the Pomeroon River, where hundreds of residents have been affected by the flooding situation. Residents are hoping that they do not contract any water-borne diseases.

The REO said the regional administration is committed to the continued distribution of food hampers to the flooded areas in the Pomeroon River. He said that the hamper distribution is an ongoing effort by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and by extension the Government of Guyana. He also said he admires the contribution from the business community which has donated items for the hampers. So far residents in the Pomeroon River, Charity, Dredge Creek, and Supenaam Creek have benefitted from the hamper distribution exercise.
Meanwhile, the regional administration through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is ensuring that all 16 pumps in the region are functioning properly. The pumps are currently draining water in flooded parts of the Essequibo Coast and in the Pomeroon River.
Reports emerging from the Pomeroon River revealed that residents particularly in the Karwab/St Monica areas remain under several feet of floodwater. The last report received by the Guyana Chronicle was that the water was approximately 4 feet high and despite the efforts of the regional administration, the water is receding slower than expected.
The high volume of water has resulted in approximately 980 cash crop farmers in the Pomeroon being affected.

According to the Regional Chairperson Vilma De Silva, the situation is heart-wrenching and it pains her to see her fellow Pomeroon farmers struggling. She said despite the private empoldering work done by the farmers, they continue to suffer due to the high intensity of rainfall, compounded with severe high tides.
De Silva told this publication that her farmland in the Pomeroon River is flooded. She said it hurts her heart to see her coconut plants in the floodwater.

“Many farmers have waited over two years to see some of their crops bear and now that the rain and the high tides have stepped in, it’s sad to see all the plants underwater and there is nothing much we can do to help ourselves…I watched a farmer cry for her losses. She invested $1.5 million in her farm and all underwater,” De Silva said.
The flooding situation has also affected livestock.

During an emergency stakeholders’ meeting held in the RDC boardroom on Monday, it was revealed by the Guyana Livestock Development Association (GLDA) that several cattle farmers were affected by the flooding. The meeting was also told that sheep and poultry farmers in the Pomeroon River are also counting their losses.
The GLDA is in the process of conducting an assessment of the losses suffered by the farmers. This newspaper was told that one farmer has over 200 heads of sheep in the floodwater while another poultry farmer has over 2,000 chickens in the floodwater.
Regional Vice-Chairman, Humace Oodit, during the meeting had said that various agencies, including the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), GLDA, and the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NARIE) are currently conducting assessments. Based on those assessments further recommendations will be made by the RDC.