Since the January rains, rivers that overflowed and caused destruction in RJ have not received PAC works | Rio de Janeiro

Since the January rains, rivers that overflowed and caused destruction in RJ have not received PAC works

“From November onwards we start to get worried because it has always flooded here, but there has never been a flood like now to destroy everything. It started raining nonstop, our lives are up to the river”, laments pensioner Rute Alves.

On the banks of the Botas River, in Baixada Fluminense, the complaint is about a lack of cleaning and drainage of the river, which has been overflowing for decades and causing damage.

The solution to resolve flooding along the Botas River has been designed since the 90s, with the Iguaçu Project.

In January of this year, after heavy rains that left 13 people dead, governor Cláudio Castro announced the inclusion of the Acari River works project and the re-registration of the Iguaçu Project in the Federal Government’s Pac.

This Wednesday (8), a budget of R$1.7 trillion was announced for Pac works across the country – but Rio’s rivers were not included.

Meanwhile, along the Acari River there are sand banks and mountains of garbage, and there is a lack of work and maintenance. Specialist Antônio says that the flow logic needs to change and that the riverbed needs to have free spaces to store rainwater and mitigate damage to neighborhoods.

In January, the Public Ministry ordered the desilting of the Acari, imposing a fine for the city of Rio of R$10,000 per day until the work is carried out.

A month later, the MP reported the failure to comply with the determination, and the city council responded that the fine was unenforceable “because the rains that occurred in January and February, which resulted in the Acari River overflowing and flooding thousands of homes, were extreme weather events”.

The city of Rio said that desilting and cleaning work is carried out routinely on the Acari River, and that in March the Rio-Águas Foundation finished cleaning the Sapopemba River – which flows into the Acari – removing more than 15 thousand tons of material from the bottom of the river.

The city hall also stated that it supports the inclusion of Acari’s work in the new Pac Intervenções.

Regarding the Iguaçu Project, the government of RJ reported that it continues negotiating with the Ministry of Cities to obtain resources to finance the works.

The reporting team contacted the Federal Government, but did not receive a response.