Central MPs want action on flooding

CARONI East MP Dr Rishad Seecheran and Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh, in statements on Thursday, both called for government action to help their constituents avoid future flooding problems, after rivers were swollen by persistent rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday. Seecheran lamented the damage caused by fast-rising water courses in the Caroni which on Thursday had flooded the communities of El Carmen, Caroni South Bank Road, Santa Monica Trace, Ross Trace, Ramlal Trace and Constantine Trace, and Sundar Drive.

"Residents are bracing for their annual loss of property, crops, livestock, poultry, vehicles, and appliances, and for the contagious bacterial disease leptospirosis and other infections. Those losses are particularly severe at a time when many people are barely managing to make a living. Lives could also be at risk.

"He said the losses could have been averted by preventative action in the dry months.

"I have pleaded both in and out of Parliament for dredging and embankment of all the watercourse and especially Caroni River, which, at 40 kilometres, is the country’s longest river. "I reminded the authorities that these waterways are shallow in several areas, with the Caroni River being just two feet deep in certain places."

He said he and his parliamentary colleagues had sought action from the Ministry of Works and Transport, but ultimately the lives of many citizens have been seriously disrupted, with some losing their possessions in the flooding.

"Some residents would be forced to leave their homes and to seek lodging and meals by good Samaritans, and their children’s education would be affected. Agricultural crops and livestock farms would be destroyed.

"I implore the Government to quickly implement wide-ranging assistance for affected residents, including compensation for lost property, social welfare aid, and support for children who lose their school necessities.

"Seecheran appealed for a holistic governmental plan to curb these annual disasters.

"The programme should include ending the erosion of hillsides and overall deforestation, prosecution for watercourse pollution, and a regular schedule of riverine dredging.

"It is unacceptable that our nationals are allowed to suffer so badly even as the government boasts in its annual budget of improving the lives of the people of TT."

Seecheran lauded people who had helped others at this time. Indarsingh appealed for a new bridge in part of his constituency, and for a Bailey bridge in the interim. "Of the wide range of saddening footage circulating yesterday, I was frustrated and maddened when I saw the condition of the Carolina Bridge."

He said he had "agitated, written, begged, pleaded" for this. "As it stands, the Carolina Bridge is currently caving in. It is the lone thoroughfare that connects the village of Carolina.

"Any collapse, he feared, would cut off parts of Carolina from each other and from the rest of Couva.

"After billions of dollars allocated annually to the ministries of Works and Transport and Rural Development and Local Government, the people of Carolina and Couva deserve better than this."