SEVERAL drains and gullies in four parishes are soon to get some much-needed attention as part of a critical drain cleaning effort. The programme, which is scheduled to commence next week, will seek to mitigate flooding in selected areas, as well as to reduce the risk of mosquito breeding.

Under the project, selected drains in St James, St Catherine, St Mary and Clarendon will be targeted for repairs and cleaning. This phase of the project, valued at $76 million, will target eleven drains and will be funded from a larger $1.2 billion supplementary budget. The programme is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the National Works Agency Stephen Shaw said that the targeted drains are critical ones that are heavily silted or blocked by branches, leaves or other waste. These he said are a hazard to property and public health, especially in light of the risk of mosquito-borne diseases. He further stated that this venture is a part of a recurrent programme to improve the drainage infrastructure across the island.

Drains that will be cleaned as part of this programme include Church Road Drain, McVickers Gully and Salt Gully in St Catherine; Capital Heights Gully and Rose Heights Gully in St James; Cane Lane Drain in St Mary and Bryan Drain in Clarendon.