Whose sinkhole is it?

FOR almost a month, queries were being made about who was responsible for repairing a sinkhole at the corner of Tragarete Road and Rosalino Street in Port of Spain. The sinkhole has been a source of inconvenience for drivers.

When contacted yesterday, Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez said he was aware of the issue for some time. But after checking to see if the responsibility for the repairs fell under any of the public utilities, Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte told Martinez it was the city corporation's problem to deal with.

"The Port of Spain corporation was given instructions to repair the hole,“ Martinez said. “The instructions went out.”

He said work was expected to start yesterday but was delayed because of heavy rainfall. He said the issue should be resolved in a few days.

The sinkhole, which averages three by three feet, is at the front of the All Out sports bar and gourmet grill. Manager Faraz Hosein told Newsday, it hasn’t really affected his business, but it does slow down the flow of traffic. He said it is actually the second sinkhole to appear since early October. He explained, a smaller one had opened up and was patched. But this larger one was formed a short while after.

"Sometimes people (drivers) go down into the hole and we can hear it."

Hosein said since the issue arose, there have been three small accidents which caused damage to vehicles. He said

incidents such as those happen more so at night if someone moves the safety cones that have been placed around the hole.