Burger Gully residents welcome MP’s relocation plan

SEVERAL residents of the flood-prone east Kingston community of Burger Gully have welcomed the announcement from Member of Parliament for Kingston Eastern and Port Royal Phillip Paulwell that close to 150 of them will be relocated. Paulwell made the disclosure during his address at his annual constituency conference at Vauxhall High School just over one week ago. “I am willing to relocate; a lot of people are willing too.

As high as the windows them be, water goes through them. All the stoves and fridge you seeing here, a wash them wash out a people house,” said one female resident as she pointed to several flood-damaged appliances. “This has been happening for more than 40 years.

I have been living here for 38 years and it has been flooding since then,” added the woman who noted that many persons are forced to start over when their homes are flooded during heavy rain. Her sentiments were echoed by Alton Giscombe, a shopkeeper in the area. “When it floods, the water comes straight into the shop; I have to place my goods on top of crates.

Two a me fridge them mash up,” said Giscombe. Shopkeeper Alton Giscombe is among the residents of Burger Gully welcome the relocation proposal. “I am comfortable with relocating because I wouldn’t want for the gully to be flooded again and it flood out my things them,” Giscombe added.

For Frank Smith, another resident, while he appreciates the initiative, he would rather the gully walls be adjusted to prevent the frequent flooding. “They could have raised the gully a little higher and everybody could be happy. If they carry the gully wall another four feet or five feet high I think we would be happy because the water would just go down,” said Smith, who added that he recently learnt about the relocation initiative.

According to Smith, when the gully overflows its banks the water enters his house and destroys everything. “Over the years I have been flooded out like six times. You have a time water come here and it don’t trouble me but when the gully bursts, it floods my home.