— Agri. Minister urges persons to desist from such acts

FLOODING is said to have intensified in agricultural areas in Letter Kenny and Whim on the Corentyne Coast, Region Six.
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, on Wednesday, after receiving reports that the flood control embankment in the Letter Kenny backland had experienced severe damage resulting in exacerbated flooding in most of the agricultural areas, called for an immediate investigation to be launched.
Residents of the already embattled villages reached out to the minister and other senior officials of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), claiming that persons had tempered with the structure.
This eventually resulted in the development of severe breaches in sections of the structure, which later collapsed, resulting in floodwaters from the savannahs invading several agricultural areas.

The Agriculture Minister condemned the act and called on persons in the area to desist from interfering with those critical structures.
“Today, I received calls from several residents and farmers from Whim and Letter Kenny who informed me that persons had tampered with the embankment. I told NDIA to carry out an investigation and those reports were later confirmed. I’ve seen videos of the devastation now being faced as a result of what appears to be a deliberate act. These are critical structures that were built to restrict the intrusion of floodwaters into residential and farming communities. If government is working and allocating resources to reduce flooding and a few persons take it upon themselves to disrupt that, hundreds of farmers and residents will suffer, so I am urging persons to desist from tampering with these critical structures,” Minister Mustapha said.
NDIA has since moved to have the structure repaired and will continue to monitor the situation in the affected areas.