Caroni police station still being sanitised

The Caroni police station, which was inundated with flood waters last weekend, remained closed yesterday. Officers are now working out of a mobile unit on the compound.Yesterday, affected officers said they are using their personal cell phones to make contact with other stations. They also complained of the cramped conditions as well as the heat, which they say continue to make working conditions uncomfortable. Head of the Central Division, Snr Supt Inraj Balram, said officers complained about the stench even after the station was sanitised, and they were moved to a mobile unit. He said there were some structural damage at the station as well as the loss of electronics.

However, Balram said he expects a full restoration of the station shortly, and urged his officers to exercise a little restraint while the repairs take place. He said members of the public can make reports to officers at the mobile unit. He said the Caroni police station had been flooded out in the past but last week’s flooding was the worst. Last Saturday, 26 dogs from the K-9 unit were saved from drowning by the Defence Force, who took some of the animals to Chaguaramas and Camp Cumuto. Five dog handlers and five other officers from the station were also rescued from flood waters at the station. The flood waters rose as high as four feet, but the officers were able to secure the station diary, telephone message books, other important documents and the arms and ammunition.

Senior officers said a decision should have been taken earlier on Saturday to relocate them and the K-9 dogs. Police Commissioner Gary Griffith yesterday thanked officers at the Caroni police station for their patience and their commitment to duty. He said that attempts will be made to ease their plight. One policeman told Newsday he saw caimans in the flooded yard. He was one of the officers who had to be rescued. Officers are calling on Griffith to consider re-locating the Caroni police station.