Residents of areas affected by overflows in Cotopaxi say they warned of risks and fear more damage

The Manna, COTOPAXI

The damage caused by the overflow of the rivers in Cotopaxi is considerable. In the midst of the removal of rubble and the delivery of food kits, reports are made to establish the magnitude and what must be rebuilt.

The tasks, however, have limitations, since the entities have alluded that they work according to their competences and there is confusion and doubts there.

Machinery from the Prefecture of Cotopaxi carry out work in the Quindigua River, sectors of Payacacu, Guasaganda, among other areas to remove debris.

The prefect of Cotopaxi, Jorge Guamán, said that the work being done at the moment is what the competition allows, since he has not received the written declaration indicating the state of emergency by the mayors of the affected cantons.

“The Executive Committee is the one that resolves, and must indicate each of the causes to be executed and until now they have not made it known to the entity, so that does not allow me to act, since the Comptroller does not give way to improvisations,” Guamán asserted in an interview for a La Maná radio station on Thursday morning.

The authority of the Provincial Council of Cotopaxi also stated that in case of receiving the respective declarations together with the mayors, they must affect the budget items, but that in this way they will be protected against any subsequent audit.

“Things have to be done well, in an organized way, not only going to take photos and be present, for now I am interested in rehabilitating the main road that connects with the affected cantons and arriving with the machinery to start clearing roads that are of my competence and that the GADs collaborate with their road teams”, explained the prefect.

For this Friday, it was expected that a team from the Prefecture’s board of trustees will begin to provide medical care to those affected in Pucayacu, Guasanda, and El Palmar with the contribution of the people of the Latacunga canton, and other cities, and the private company.

Residents say they warned of risks

Consuelo Rico indicated that since 2011, together with several inhabitants of Pucayacu Chico, they have asked the Risk Secretariat to carry out an inspection so that the risk zone is declared, but the local authorities on duty did nothing.

“The misfortune was announced and that winter is just beginning, it was said to build breakwater walls and nothing, we lost almost everything, now they ask us to abandon our properties and it is not fair, this is a lack of will on the part of the authorities on duty”, said the affected citizen.

Given these claims, the mayor of La Maná, Hipólito Carrera, clarified that the work is based on skills, and that the technical support is carried out due to the emergency they are going through, but that the Ministry of Transport and Public Works is the one that should have attended to the people who are now suffering from the onslaught of the San Pablo River and which has caused damage to the E30 and homes that are close to the tributary.

Regarding the effects, the mayor of La Maná explained that it is necessary to visit sites and sectors belonging to Quindigua, which due to the damage to its roads and the collapse of its bridges are isolated and therefore cannot be accessed.

“There are cantons that are not within our competence and we are still acting and will continue to do so, but there are others in which we cannot intervene, for example, in rural roads, but we are doing everything in our power according to needs,” he explained.

Carrera said that the disaster in the four cantons affected by the winter season, La Maná, Sigchos, Pujilí and Pangua, originated because the heavy rain from the Andes mountain range was too much and the volume of water motivated the rivers that were looking for a channel. , devastated everything in its path, so much so that it disappeared to the El Palmar sector of the Pujilí canton.

The mayor reported that in Pucayacu, which is the most affected town in La Maná, a breakwater wall will be erected seeking bank support and the work will begin.

ask for quick help

“We need bulldozers in order to channel the Quindigua river and the current is right next to the houses, even in the town there is a bridge bailey that it is in danger, but thanking God it has not been dragged away, we want to protect it so that it does not collapse,” said Naldo Noboa, president of the parish council of Pucayacu, La Maná canton, Cotopaxi province.

He acknowledged that in the parish capital, heavy machinery from various entities, especially from the Municipality and rented, is being worked on the river, which is even cleaned in the populated center, but indicated that in the Quindigua there is arduous work in approximately 2 kilometers , and more backhoes are required. Currently, he said, there are five machines, but they are not enough.

The material that fell with the current on Sunday after the heavy rains is quite a lot, there are large stones and they must be removed because there is a danger because the rainfall continues in the highlands.

“There are three more months of winter left and we continue to be vulnerable, even more so when we no longer have a protection barrier against the rising river, assured the president of Pucayacu.

The residents say that the Quindigua River should be dredged, which will protect the houses because, otherwise, another flood endangers around 250 homes in the San Camilo, Centro, Las Mercedes and Nuevo neighborhoods.

He added that even what has been done is to evacuate some people to the three shelters installed in the upper part of the parish so that they can go to rest at night, arguing that the losses are still quantified, but that it is estimated that around 50 hectares of paddocks and pastures were affected, especially the land that remains on the banks of the river.

He reported that the system for supplying drinking water to the town of Pucayacu had been restored, but argued that there are problems mainly because the pipes burst as a result of the effects left by the rising of the Quindigua River, so there are occasions that service must be suspended until the damage is repaired.

incommunicado communities

In the Choaló and Sandomo communities, around 300 people remain incommunicado. In the area there is a risk of two bridges collapsing completely, and the roads are in very poor condition.

For these areas they also require heavy machinery to carry out the work that allows the structures to be saved.

In Sandomo there is the road that connects with Sigchos, another of the cantons affected by the rising rivers of the previous Sunday, which was used as an alternative when there are problems on the E30 that connects La Maná with Pujilí. There is no passage and for this reason it is about putting together teams with military personnel to reach the isolated areas of Sigchos and Pucayacu with help.

They try to reach the people of the isolated communities with the help of food, for which they have the support of members of the Army, the Fire Department and the Municipality of La Maná.

Noboa said that ropes were placed in the parts where it is difficult to cross the river in order to pass food, products, medicines to the towns that can be reached by land. (I)