City cleans up drag mall fire debris

NINE days after a fire gutted four booths at the Drag Mall, the Port of Spain City Corporation yesterday helped to clear away the debris. This was confirmed by Mayor Joel Martinez who said the clean-up operation was done despite limited resources available to the corporation.

“This is the only type of assistance we can offer at this time. I don’t think the corporation can give more assistance at this time because we have limited resources to do our own work.

We will try to assist them as best as we can because in a situation like this people are affected and we will see what we can do.”

When Newsday visited the site yesterday, vendors were seen working alongside the city corporation moving the rubble and placing it on trucks.

Martinez also said after meeting with the Minister of Works and Transport last Friday, they will be working alongside the ministry to have the drains and water courses in and around the city clean.

“We are putting a programme in place to work alongside the Ministry of Works to look at all the drains in the city to help alleviate any flooding that may happen during this year’s rainy season.

I am asking citizens who use the city on a daily basis and those who lives in the city not to throw their garbage and especially plastics into the water courses.

“Most of the time when flooding takes place it’s because the drains are blocked and once there is a clog in a particular area there will be flooding in that particular area. The capacities of our drains are not able to hold the amount of water that comes down on a particular time.

During general rainfall yes, but abnormally when there is a heavy rainfall in a short space of time, you will have the difficulty and the possibility of flooding.”