Arima mayor George Hadeed says the site of Hearty Foods Supermarket and surrounding area may soon be declared a “disaster” area and is calling for the authorities to assist. Last week some 200 workers were left on the breadline after a fire destroyed the supermarket at the corner of Sorzano and Pro Queen Streets, Arima.
Ashley’s Bed, Bath and Beyond, which was on one of the upper floors of the property, was also destroyed in the fire.
“What is going on now is the investigators are taking some time to finish their investigation. I am hoping they are finished so the site can be cleared. I want to call on the Government to see what it can do and assist with the situation,” he said. “The necessary authorities—the Fire Services, the insurance company—have to do what they have to do to expedite this as soon as possible because it is a health hazard and it is causing a high stench in the borough so it must be cleared as soon as possible,” he said.
He said members from the Health Department were spraying the building and “the area might soon be declared a disaster area.” Hearty Foods owner, Ishwar Maharaj, said there was a smell because the supermarket had ten cold storage facilities that did not burn fully in the fire. “The meat is rotten. The borough was spraying it but the smell is there,” he added.
Maharaj said the building was an eyesore and a hazard and residents have complained about the stench. “We are trying to make the insurance expedite the process. The building is unsafe and we want to see about this before school starts with all those schools around,” he added. He said two days ago some of the items in the building were still on fire.
He added: “We are waiting for insurance to give us the okay and rebuild on the site. I would like to thank all the assistance we are getting and from Kamla (Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar) who helped us to give us something of comfort. “She did us an act of kindness (a one-time cheque of $5,000 for displaced workers). Some think it is political, think of it as humanity,” he said. Maharaj said some of the workers were given jobs in Sangre Grande and in Arima.
“We absorbed them in the other establishments, supermarkets, hardwares and restaurants and keep in contact daily, even though the salary is smaller,” he said.