Lake Enriquillo case under study

[NewsWhore]

The commission set up by President Leonel Fernandez to deal with the problem of flooding in Bahoruco and Independencia provinces will submit a report today outlining the corrective measures that need to be taken after a meeting with representatives of the affected communities yesterday. According to El Caribe, the ministers of Agriculture, Public Works, Environment, the director of the National Hydraulic Resources Institute (INDRHI) and the Presidential Press Secretary met with cattle ranchers, farmers and representatives of the Catholic Church and listened to their complaints, requests and suggestions for solutions to the problem. Priests Michel Vargas Rosario from Bahoruco and Francisco Feliz from Jimani said that they felt that the number one priority should be the construction of a dike on the Trujillo Canal in Tamayo, as a way of stemming the flooding of the lake by waters of the South Yaque River. They said that the dike had been destroyed by flooding after Tropical Storms Noel and Olga in 2007 and has yet to be repaired. The cattle farmers also asked for their RD$19 million debt with suppliers and creditors to be taken over by the National Council for the Promotion and Regulation of the Milk Industry (Conaleche). They pointed out that 60% of their grazing land has been lost to the rising waters of the two lakes. Father Feliz said that if the dike is not constructed, entire towns in Bahoruco and Independencia provinces could disappear from one moment to the next. Representing the government, Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal promised that they would begin solving the problems that are affecting the inhabitants of the region by next week.

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