Couva North MP blames Works Ministry for flooding

Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram is calling on the Ministry of Works and Transport to do drainage work on the watercourses running through his constituency.

Ratiram’s call comes after several parts of his constituency, including McBean, Roystonia, Exchange and Perseverance, were flooded on Saturday after heavy rain.

In a release on Monday, Ratiram blamed the ministry for the area’s flooding problems.

He also claimed central government is not giving enough money to the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation to do drainage work throughout the region.

The release said, “While our local government representatives try their best with whatever little resources are given to them, it is a far cry from what other corporations, specifically those controlled by the PNM, receive.

“Now it seems that, to add to their woes, the Ministry of Works and Transport has turned its back on Couva North as well.”

Even before he became the area’s MP, Ratiram said, people in the constituency had constantly been affected by flooding.

He is now putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of the ministry.

“The list of distressed areas and the extent to which these villages in Couva North are being affected has been increasing, with the evident explanation being poor water run-off due to the Government’s neglect.

He said the ministry's Drainage Division should do maintenance work ahead of the rainy season each year, but had not done in Couva North "for quite some time.”

Apart from damage to property, Ratiram laments that flooding also presentsother risks to his constituents like an increase in giant African snails, which carry meningitis.