RESIDENTS living adjacent to a Housing Authority development in Kashmir, Lautoka, had their yards and homes inundated with water and sludge last Sunday.
Vijay Kumar, a resident of the area, said he had suffered damage to electrical goods and his home.
“The water came from my back yard and entered the kitchen, destroyed electrical tools and food items like flour and rice,” Mr Kumar said.
“The last time we had rain and mud in our yard and homes was in January and it wasn’t as bad as this.
“The reason this is happening is because big drains from the housing development empty into normal drainage along our road.”
Nitesh Maharaj claimed it was the fourth time homes along Taj Mohammed Lane had been affected by run-off from the development.
“We tried to clear the water and mud before it entered our homes — some of us managed to do it but some were not so lucky,” he said.
“We are tired of running around — when we go to the contractor, he says it’s the developers’ fault, when we go to the developer, they say it’s the Lautoka City Council’s fault.”
Pramod Kumar, director of Fairdeal Earthmoving Contractors — the housing developer, said he was aware of the issue and would ensure it was addressed.
“Our teams are on site and working on diverting water away from those homes,” he said when contacted on Sunday.
“The rain was very unexpected and we are addressing the issue.”
Lautoka City Council CEO Jone Nakauvadra said all stakeholders in the project held a meeting last month and it was agreed that drainage concerns would be addressed by the council and Housing Authority.
“The drains that are there are not able to meet the capacity of water coming down, so we are working together to address the issue,” Mr Nakauvadra said.
