The scene has changed in Degg in Dakar, in the religious city of Touba. The pump is no longer running. The pipes are visible near a small sheet of water lashing the roadway. Nearby, a man is huddled in a folding chair under the shade of an acacia tree. On Friday, October 24, the thermometer is close to 40 degrees. "Here, when we came with Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, this entire area was inaccessible," says Moustapha Wilson of the Mbacké-Touba Department of the National Sanitation Office.

The pump and hoses no longer have a place at this level. At least, that's the opinion of Director General Mr. Séni Diène, who has scheduled a field visit. "We need to demobilize the pumps and redeploy them elsewhere. Just yesterday, we had to scramble to get hoses. Wherever water has been evacuated, we must not leave the equipment there," suggested the Director General of ONAS.

A boost of speed

In the northern part, such as in Guédé, specifically in Jummah Serigne Abdou Kadre, mud still litters the roadway like a receding stream. The main arteries are gradually opening to traffic. But the Director General of ONAS wants to speed things up. "After the pumping operations, we should see that the roads are busy. We must deploy dredgers to clear this mud and debris," suggested Mr. Séni Diène.

     

The return of the victims begins

 

After Guédé, the delegation makes a detour to the Poulailler district. The water residue can be overcome if the system operates continuously, as the technicians recommended.

Elsewhere in Darou Khadim, teams are busy deploying a new pump as local residents look on. Here, some of those displaced by the waters have returned. This is one of the measurable facts of the impact of the pumping. In this area, in addition to the Directorate of Flood Prevention and Management (DPGI), the Municipal Development Agency (ADM), and the Fire Brigade intervened. "I returned the day before yesterday with my family. The water has been evacuated from a large part of Darou Khadim thanks to the efforts of government services. I take this opportunity to thank the Caliph General of the Mourides, Serigne Mountakha Mbacké, the President of the Republic, and his Prime Minister. They have never abandoned the people," Khadim Diop testified amidst a group of victims. Here, the Director General of ONAS prepared to answer questions from young people who thought that the construction of the pipelines in Nguiranène was the source of the flooding in their neighborhood. "Darou Khadim is lower than Nguiranène. It's normal for the water to flow down a slope. This part communicated with the Sine Valley. The authorities' option is to try to restore these natural channels to facilitate the gravity drainage of rainwater," explained the Director General. He invited the victims to convey the right messages for the general interest.

Reinforcement of the pumping system at Terrain embankment

After Darou Khadim, head for "Terrain Remblai." On the site, there are bundles of hoses. A new pump is loaded into a skip. It advances into a "pond." In the middle, it stops. Technicians lower the pump into the part where the water level is greatest. ONAS has just unloaded 3 km of hoses, a 1,000 m3/hour pump, which is added to another 1,000 m3/hour pump, and another 2,500 m3/hour pump. "We have the ability to evacuate this water in a relatively short time. But we want to do everything while taking into account the opinions of religious authorities and the population. In the northern part of Touba, we have seen results. It is in the neighborhoods located in the south, that is, near the Sine Valley, that we still face constraints. "On the site alone, we will have a capacity of 4000m3/hour. I believe that within a few days, many neighborhoods will be free of water," projected the Director General of ONAS.