BARMM’s “Bantay Tulay” clears water hyacinth in Rio Grande
Local News • 16:15 PM Tue Jan 26, 2021
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By:
FERDINANDH CABRERA
The water hyacinth, when left unattended, could trigger floods in Cotabato City, nearby towns. (Photo courtesy of Jo Henry)
COTABATO CITY – Before it can cause massive floods in the city and nearby town of Sultan Kudarat and Sultan Mastura, the Bangsamoro Region’s “Bantay-Tulay” has started unclogging water hyacinths that clogged under Delta Brigade along Rio Grande de Mindanao.
“Bantay-Tulay” is composed of men from Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action Response on Disaster Incidence (READi) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
They were deployed since Sunday to ease the waterways under the Delta bridge where huge chunks of water hyacinths had been building up under the bridge, which when left unattended, could trigger massive floods in low lying areas of the city and nearby towns.
Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, also BARMM spokesperson, ordered the deployment of abled bodied men to help destroy and cut into pieces the water hyacinth so water could flow freely toward the Moro Gulf.
BARMM’s quick response aims to preempt the repeat of massive flooding in 2011 in Cotabato City where around 10 hectares of hyacinth clogged the river channel.
“Lets call the attention of DPWH (national office) to address this immediately as this has not been turned over to BARMM,” he said.
Today, BARMM Bantay-Tulay workers works manually to push away, cutting block-by-block the hardened hyacinth while a water master machine from the DPWH-12 (amphibious excavator) is also working to quickly remove the water plants.
In 2011, people from various sectors volunteered to help unclog the river, showed a unifying gestures from both military and police and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, who worked “elbow-to-elbow” for the betterment of all constituents. (Ferdinandh Cabrera)