Fiery protest at Sixth Company

Angry residents of Sixth Company Village, New Grant, burnt debris in various roads yesterday to protest deplorable conditions and major landslips. They are calling on the authorities to intervene immediately, saying both past and present administrations neglected them.

One said, “This is a historical area, but it seems we are the forgotten set of descendants of Merikins.

The roads are bad, so too are the drains. Administrations come and go, and the problems remain.

Twice for the year (last year) taxi fares increased. If residents are not home by 6 pm or 7 pm, they are stranded A taxi along the Princes Town-Sixth Company route, a 15-minute drive, costs $7.

Residents blocked the roads from 6 am yesterday, saying the torrential rainfall in October contributed significantly to already deplorable conditions. Part of the Sixth Company Circular Road is almost impassable and one resident, Kizzy Scipio, lost two houses. She and other residents attributed this to the rainfall as well as “years of neglect by the authorities.”

In the first instance, a leak from a broken roadside drain weakened the wooden structure, making it uninhabitable. She and her husband began to build on a concrete structure nearby, but after the heavy rains late last year, mud and slush from a major landslip destroyed it.

She reported the matter to the Princes Town Regional Corporation, the Housing Development Corporation and the MP for the area, Dr Lovell Francis.

Francis met with protesters yesterday and promised to address the issues with repairs from today. He also acknowledged that he was aware of Scipio’s situation and said he was assisting her.

In his presence, protesters accused him and the ruling PNM administration of breaking their promises.

Councillor for the area Michelle Benjamin said residents went to Francis several times and accused him of failing to offer assurances to resolve the issues.

She added: “There is no commitment from the MP.

He promised to do some patching.

“Officials from the Works (and Transport) Ministry say that nothing has been put forward to them in terms of doing major repairs.”