Chaguanas suffering from flooding

Dinesh Rambally
Dinesh Rambally

CHAGUANAS West MP Dinesh Rambally has called on the Ministry of Works and Transport to adequately address drainage issues in the area following Saturday’s flash flooding which not only affected Central Trinidad but other parts of the country.

In a letter to minister Rohan Sinanan, copied to the ministers of Housing and Urban Development; Planning; Rural Development and Local Government; and Social Development and Family Services, Rambally said an urgent remedy is needed to confront the increasingly difficult task of flood preparation and mitigation.

He noted that water run-off from the land exceeded capacity of various channels and in his constituency in particular, the drainage systems were dilapidated, non-functional and even non-existent.

The MP’s letter came after Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed complained that the borough was being starved of funds by central government and as such, critical work such as maintainance of facilities and infrastructure have not been done.

Rambally said, “Flooding is not a partisan issue.

“It affects all of TT. People whose homes have been affected, have suffered great loss, and for those who recently lost their jobs or are economically challenged, theirs is a double hit.

“The inability to immediately restore the surroundings to proper levels of sanitation raises concerns of disease occurrence, such as leptospirosis and other kinds of infection.”

He explained that the health effects from flooding put an additional strain on the medical system, which he described was overwhelmed as it tried to battle the covid19 virus.

“Any fever arising from any ordinary infection has implications for being a suspected covid19 case, and this adds further confusion in the health and parallel health care systems, where a fever is now like an alarm bell.

“The psychological impact on persons repeatedly affected by flooding can be seen as a mental health issue, and it has not yet been addressed in any meaningful way by the relevant ministry and/or other agencies.

“We have seen snapshots of this trauma on the news time and again. Affected persons experience a surge of anxiety when heavy rains fall,” Rambally said.

Additionally, Rambally said a lack of funding to the regional corporations to assist with flooding has rendered them helpless.

“I am aware that the regional corporations have a role in this flood crisis. Local councillors are usually on the ground, but their resources to deal with such a crisis is restricted.

Yet they get the brunt of the blame from the community for their perceived inability to turn the situation around in real time.

“The result is that councillors are under tremendous pressure to explain the limited scope of their assistance even as they try to assist how best they can.”

And while Rambally acknowledged the role of the Office of Disaster Management and Preparedness (ODPM), he said getting the necessary help at the time of a crisis is a long wait.

Frederick Settlement, Caroni, Alligator Trace, Warren Munroe Road, Ramsaran Trace, Ramlal Trace were some of the areas heavily impacted by flooding on the weekend.

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