Penal residents ask Government: Why don't you help us?

Penal residents are asking Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, and his ministry to explain why, in their opinion, some areas of Trinidad are given more attention after floods.

The residents are raising their concern over bias after recent floods in the area.

This comes the day after Sinanan held a press conference to deny claims that his ministry practises "geographical discrimination" in addressing infrastructural issues.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sinanan said his ministry does not discriminate in fixing landslips as he responded to recent protests in the Moruga/Tableland constituency over the state of roads.

But the protests in that area were just the latest in a series in south Trinidad against the ministry.

On September 11, residents of Suchit Trace in Penal demonstrated to call for drainage work on the Coramata River to mitigate flooding. A week later, Woodland residents held a similar demonstration.

Newsday met Rajkumar Ramdial on Wednesday while visiting several areas in Penal that were flooded after recent heavy rain.

An irate Ramdial, whose Tulsa Trace home was flooded, said he’d noticed that areas such as Greenvale, La Horquetta, were given more attention than areas like Penal after floods.

He told Newsday, “Before it finish flood in Greenvale, they (the authorities) does be writing cheques to help people there. Why it is them could get assistance but we can’t get assistance?

“But if they ask us, we’ll say don’t give us the assistance...the money you’ll spend there (on assistance), spend it and fix the problem.

“How much time you’ll give handout? Stop giving handouts and fix the (expletive) problem.”

Ramdial said authorities, including Sinanan, have visited the area and a handful of floodgates were built.

But he thinks the continued flooding in the area only solidifies his argument that not much is being done.

He showed Newsday several trees growing in the stream that flows opposite his home and said the stream contributes to his home being flooded.

Ramdial claims the ministry told him it has been unable to do work on the stream because the Environmental Management Authority did not give approval to cut the trees.

He added, “Them (the ministry) done have their agenda and saying, 'Don’t study us.'

“Two days may blow over after floods and they may do a lil something to think they do something for us.”

Newsday also met up with a displaced family walking along Ramdharry Trace.

The father, who did not want to be identified, told Newsday the family had no choice but to evacuate their home, which was flooded since Monday.

He explained, “We have this feeling that we’ve been getting flooded here and we have no support or no representation.

“No one has ever visited us…I still waiting for my compensation money from (the floods in) 2019. I lost about $40,000 in those floods and I still waiting for that compensation.”

He told Newsday he wants to see drainage work done in the area and he does not agree with Sinanan’s claim that the government does not engage in geographic discrimination.

On Katwaroo Branch Road, Deo Kalicharam’s home was also flooded.

Accustomed to flooding, Kalicharam told Newsday floods in the area usually take several days to subside, and get worse during high tide.

Kalicharam’s said his young grandson wanted to come outside and see the floodwaters, but he was told no and kept in a safe part of the house.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management deployed three teams of trained personnel along with multi-hazard vehicles in Penal to support flood relief operations by the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation.

In a recent interview, Sinanan told Newsday his ministry's southern drainage division has been investigating all drainage issues in south Trinidad and is working on solving them.