radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Frustrated with the high cost of vehicular repairs, residents of Grants Road, Rousillac, staged a fiery protest early yesterday calling on Works Minister Rohan Sinanan to fix their roads.
From around 3 am, the residents blocked Grants Road in three places as well as part of the Mon Desir Highway, which connects Rousillac to Oropouche.
Resident Dave Ramoutar said the road has become impassable and no attempts were being made to repair it. Ramoutar said Grants Road connects to the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension and hundreds of people use it on a daily basis to get access to the south west peninsula.
Another resident said the constant flow of traffic from the highway to the Southern Main Road had exacerbated the worsening road conditions.
“A pedestrian can no longer walk the road comfortably,” she said.
She added that during the last protest they were treated with contempt by the Government.
“We were told that we could protest all we want it will make no difference. We think we deserve better and we are calling on the minister to fix the roads now,” the resident added.
Chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said some patchwork was done on the road but this was not enough. Saying over 500 residents were directly affected, Ramadharsingh called on the Government to fix the roads as soon as possible.
The residents have promised to continue the protests if the Government fails to act.