Sinanan renews calls for people to stop using tyres to repair river breaches

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan renewed calls for people to desist from using tyres and other "temporary things" as barriers to try to repair any breaches in rivers, adding that such efforts would not hold out.

"That is not the solution because those tyres would dislodge and end up somewhere, and they could cause problems for the same residents trying to solve them," Sinanan said on Saturday during a tour at the Tulsa Trace pump site in Penal.

Work started on five major breaches along the New Cut Channel on Saturday.

Earlier in the month, the New Cut Channel broke its banks (north and south) in different places causing massive flooding in the Penal, Debe and Woodland areas.

To try to prevent a reoccurrence, residents, together with the president of the South Oropouche Riverine Flood Action Group, Edward Moodie, decided to take matters into their own hands and placed bags of sand as well as tyres on the banks.

"I understand the plight of the residents. It is not easy to see everything you have flooding out, especially when it is year after year," the minister said.

However, he added that given the weather patterns, water would go to flood-prone and low-lying areas, marshland, swamp land, and flood plains.

"Water does not go up a hill. It goes to the lowest point, and the lowest point will continue to be affected depending on the volume of rainfall," Sinanan said.

He referred to a media statement on June 19 when the ministry said it disapproved of the "unsanctioned embankment works" by the residents on the New Cut Channel. The statement read that the ministry had done a detailed assessment of the extent of the damage to determine short and long-term solutions.

Asked if the ministry intends to take action against the residents for building the barrier, he said the ministry has its "limitations."

"We are focused on fixing the breaches. We are asking everyone to work with us. We are willing to work with everybody, and we have to work within the limit of the law and do things that are sustainable."

Minister in the Ministry Richie Sookhai, director of the drainage division Katherine Badloo-Doerga and acting permanent secretary Ronald Alfred were also on the tour.

The team later visited two other drainage sites in Erin, landslips in La Brea and Cedros as well as road rehabilitation projects in south Trinidad.

Sinanan emphasised that the ministry had embarked on "very aggressive" drainage and road rehabilitation programmes.

"Every day and night, we have road paving taking place," he said.

"All cannot be done at the same because we are working with a programme and on a budget. The idea is to repave every single road in this country on a phased basis. Some roads can be paved in the day, which we do, and others in the night."