Police watch over Barrackpore roadworks

Under the watchful eyes of the police, workers from the Ministry of Works and Transport returned to Barrackpore on Wednesday to start patching the road.

On Tuesday, when the workers visited the junction at Rees Road and St Croix Road to drop off materials, residents protesting over the bad road chased them away, saying they wanted the roads paved, not patched.

One said, “They are throwing yellow boulders in the potholes. We do not want that. We want this road paved. Why don’t they put them on a back road or where people do farming and agriculture, for tractors to pass?”

Residents denied throwing stones at the workers on Tuesday, but admitted they had chased them away.

On Wednesday, there was an exchange of words between angry residents and the police when a truck arrived to offload the materials.

Residents insisted the stones would cause further damage to the road, people and vehicles. They also expressed concern about the possibility of a temporary and not permanent fix.

The police repeatedly told residents not to block the road or obstruct the workers.

During one exchange, resident Anil Mahadeo was seen standing behind a truck as the police told him to move. Video footage shows him saying he is a heart patient. He also challenged the police to lock him up if he was doing something unlawful.

There was a brief scuffle, and residents accused the police of “roughing him up.” But the police quelled the commotion. No one was arrested.

Mahadeo, a mini-mart owner, began complaining of feeling unwell.

A close relative told Newsday an ambulance took him to the Princes Town district health facility. Mahadeo had triple bypass surgery in 2020, she said.

Another resident, Ayana Daniel, of Rees Road, said patching was ongoing on Wednesday afternoon.

She added, “There are too many bad roads in this community for the protest to stop. There is too much break land. The front bumper of my car is falling off because of the bad road.”

Residents have protested for the past few weeks, blocking several areas to highlight their plight.

A ministry official confirmed workers were on site but did not give additional information.