Assistant Minister, Commissioner Central Begin Damage Inspection
“The farmers have really been affected by the flooding. The continuous rain has damaged their root crops and when this happens it affects the root crop prices at the market.
Thursday 13 January 2022 | 09:05
Affected Koronavia residents with Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Disaster Management, (second from left )Vijay Nath and Commissioner Central (second from right) Josefa Navuku on January 12, 2022. Photo: Ronald Kumar
Inspections into the damages suffered by the farming community as a result of the recent heavy weather have begun.
The Assistant Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Vijay Nath yesterday accompanied by Commissioner Central Josefa Navuku to visit farmers at Koronivia in Nausori.
“As of today, the monitoring team is on the ground to evaluate the damages done on the ground. The data will then be brought to us so that we can see how we will help,” Mr Nath said.
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“The farmers have really been affected by the flooding. The continuous rain has damaged their root crops and when this happens it affects the root crop prices at the market.
“TC Cody has gone, and we must work together in rebuilding Fiji. It feels good to be on the ground and talk directly to the farmers as they are some of those that are badly affected.
“We will not leave anyone behind. We will always put the needs and wants of the Fijians first.”
Advisory Council for Koronivia to Lokia, Satih Kumar said: “We have seven settlements in these areas, and I have been on the advisory council for about 10 years and have seen a lot of these floodings. I believe the problem is that the second bridge is in a low area and only the bridge can be raised.
“People are really affected when Koronivia gets flooded as many of them work in Suva and this is a hindrance for them as they would lose their income.
“In this area, every second house is rented so every money counts. People have been stuck at home for the past three days and will maybe be stuck for another two days.
“Our farm drainage is also very poor. If something is done about it then our farmers would be so happy.”
Resident Bijay Prasad said for the last 20 years he lived in Koronivia and they have faced the same problem of flooding every time it rains heavily.
“Whenever it rains, we expect flooding, and it has become a norm. We are cleaning our house because it is so dirty because mud came into our home,” Mr Prasad said.
“Water coming into our home during flooding is normal so when the warning came, we took our things upstairs just to be on the safe side and we are glad that we did because water rose faster as it continued to rain.”
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