About those dying lions

THE EDITOR: Please permit the National Trust an opportunity to share some further context to the column written by Jerome Teelucksingh, in the Thursday Newsday, headlined: Dying Lions in Central.

The trust wishes to thank Dr Teelucksingh for his column, in which he reminds us of the legacy of Pundit Capildeo and points to the need to safeguard his iconic Lion House, as it is popularly called and known.

The National Trust acknowledges that the Lion House, which is around 100 years old, is significant for its architecture, its communal value and serves as a monument to Pundit Capildeo and the Capildeo family, who have contributed significantly to Chaguanas and to the nation.

Even in its present state of neglect, the building with its lion statuary, remains a landmark in Chaguanas, and is a part of the identity of that borough. While its importance is sadly slipping from memory, its histories still have resonance not just with the descendants of Indian indentured labourers but also the wider public and the diaspora.

The National Trust and the Chaguanas Borough Corporation are deeply concerned over the degradation of the structure and have been trying to determine how to arrest this decline and find ways to enable its restoration.

However, the avenues for doing so are limited, as it is a privately owned property.

The trust firmly believes that the Lion House, even in its present state, is a national treasure worth conserving. We are certain that given the opportunity, the Chaguanas business community and the wider population would support the conservation of the Lion House.

We therefore remain hopeful for an agreement with the private owners that would enable this restoration to commence.

We suggest that people who wish to donate to its restoration could contact the mayor of Chaguanas and provide their contact information so that once an agreement is reached, the corporation could spearhead the remedial works in partnership with the National Trust.

NEISHA GHANY

Deputy chairman

National Trust