Still reeling from Saturday’s flood which caused severe damage to their homes, Woodland residents lit piles of waste across the busy Pluck Road, San Francique yesterday, demanding that their drainage be fixed.
Hundreds of commuters, including school children and heavy equipment were forced to find alternative routes as tyres, heaps of dirt and old appliances littered the road from as early as 5 am.
Highlighting the residents’ problems, Soloman Mathura, 82, said poor drainage in the community has been an issue since he was a child and despite cries for help to successive governments, nothing was done.
He said some of the culverts were damaged, restricting the flow of water while the drains were too small for the volume of water passing through the community.
“I lived here for 82 years and this is a very old problem. There are three culverts here and we need proper drains, four feet wide, not two feet.
“We want six feet bridges across Pluck Road between the 3/4 mile and one mile marks. If we don’t get that, we will continue to protest.
“It is not because of the People’s National Movement (PNM) we are protesting, it is because of 100 years of neglect.
“I was here when this road was gravel and there was always neglect.
“Every time we spoke to the MPs like Trevor Sudama and they did nothing.
“We had a flood on Saturday and we had 70 floods since I knew myself, but nobody listens to us.
“We spoke to the past MPs, delivered letters but they paid no attention to us. We need our new MP (Oropouche West), Mrs Vidia Guyadeen-Gopeesingh to visit us and tell us what she will or will not do,” Mathura said.
Ozwald Mathura, one of the residents affected by the floods, showed his damaged speakers, amplifiers and sound system as water reached as high as four feet in his home.
He said while he was seeking compensation, he does not know who to speak to.
Residents anger worsened by 9 am, when county superintendent from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Steve Heru ordered the removal of the debris blocking the road.
Residents said it was Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) which had jurisdiction of the Woodland community.
Heru said he got his instructions to assist the Siparia corporation.
Protesters said the intended to continue their protest until they met with Siparia chairman Leo Doodnath.
Comprehensive drainage plan needed
After meeting with protesters, Doodnath said a plan was done to rectify the inadequate drainage in the community and he intended to speak with the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division yesterday.
Admitting that the issue was decades old, he said the cleaning of the drains will begin today in hope that it will curtail further flooding.
“This particular issue falls under the purview of the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division. From my information, they are well aware of the issue and something was put in train to do something about it.
“Where it has reached, I have to go find out now. From here, I am going to the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division in Penal and ask them to expedite whatever it is they had to do here because the people are really suffering and are under pressure.
“That is step one and step two is to engage the Disaster Management Unit to come into the area and survey what damage were done with a view towards helping out people with respect to compensation, but that is a different ministry,” Doodnath said.ere forced to find alternative routes as tyres, heaps of dirt and old appliances littered the road from as early as 5 am. Highlighting the residents’ problems, Soloman Mathura, 82, said poor drainage in the community has been an issue since he was a child and despite cries for help to successive governments, nothing was done. He said some of the culverts were damaged, restricting the flow of water while the drains were too small for the volume of water passing through the community. “I lived here for 82 years and this is a very old problem. There are three culverts here and we need proper drains, four feet wide, not two feet. “We want six feet bridges across Pluck Road between the 3/4 mile and one mile marks. If we don’t get that, we will continue to protest. “It is not because of the People’s National Movement (PNM) we are protesting, it is because of 100 years of neglect. “I was here when this road was gravel and there was always neglect. “Every time we spoke to the MPs like Trevor Sudama and they did nothing. “We had a flood on Saturday and we had 70 floods since I knew myself, but nobody listens to us. “We spoke to the past MPs, delivered letters but they paid no attention to us. We need our new MP (Oropouche West), Mrs Vidia Guyadeen-Gopeesingh to visit us and tell us what she will or will not do,” Mathura said. Ozwald Mathura, one of the residents affected by the floods, showed his damaged speakers, amplifiers and sound system as water reached as high as four feet in his home. He said while he was seeking compensation, he does not know who to speak to. Residents anger worsened by 9 am, when county superintendent from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Steve Heru ordered the removal of the debris blocking the road. Residents said it was Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) which had jurisdiction of the Woodland community. Heru said he got his instructions to assist the Siparia corporation. Protesters said the intended to continue their protest until they met with Siparia chairman Leo Doodnath. Comprehensive drainage plan needed After meeting with protesters, Doodnath said a plan was done to rectify the inadequate drainage in the community and he intended to speak with the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division yesterday. Admitting that the issue was decades old, he said the cleaning of the drains will begin today in hope that it will curtail further flooding. “This particular issue falls under the purview of the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division. From my information, they are well aware of the issue and something was put in train to do something about it. “Where it has reached, I have to go find out now. From here, I am going to the Ministry of Works’ Drainage Division in Penal and ask them to expedite whatever it is they had to do here because the people are really suffering and are under pressure. “That is step one and step two is to engage the Disaster Management Unit to come into the area and survey what damage were done with a view towards helping out people with respect to compensation, but that is a different ministry,” Doodnath said.