Valdeen Shears
Armed with placards and voicing their concerns and disapproval, several residents of Trincity and environs yesterday picketed the main entrance of Bhagwansingh’s Hardware and Steel Industries Ltd in Piarco.
Continued construction of a massive commercial five-storey structure just north of the Trincity Mall sparked the protest, which saw several retirees, including Prof Selwyn Cudjoe, leave the comfort of their homes to be heard.
It is the sixth such protest staged since June after two work stop orders were issued from the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation (TPRC) to Bhagwansingh’s, forcing them to stop construction.
According to Robert Benjamin of the Trincity Advocates for a Sustainable Community, the developers are yet to obtain a Certificate of Environmental Clearance or an Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate from the Environmental Management Authority.
A resident said a flyer which they received stated that Bhagwansingh’s had received approval from statutory bodies such as WASA, Town and Country Planning, Drainage Division, Highways Division, the corporation, and the chief fire officer.
However, Prof Cudjoe said the legality of the entire project was questionable and should be under heavy scrutiny by Government.
He also questioned the involvement of Minister of Planning, Dr Bhoendranath Tewarie at the sod-turning ceremony on August 14, 2014.
One resident noted that under Town and Country Planning regulations, they were not allowed to build above two stories.
Peter Burke, a member of the Save Our Green Space Committee, who lobbied and won against the construction of a sporting complex at the Orange Grove Savannah, Tacarigua, said the residents were fearful that continued construction would cause adverse effects on the entire environment, as its fence was situated directly on a nearby major river bank.
Tewarie failed to respond to calls and voice messages left on his mobile phone by the Sunday Guardian.
Calls, voice messages and texts to the mobile phone of the TPRC vice chairman and councillor, Esmond Forde, went unanswered.
When contacted, an employee at Bhagwansingh’s Sea Lots head office said there were “no managers available for comment.”