RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Just as they feared, villagers of St Julien Road in Princes Town are now cut off after the main road slipped into a 30-feet precipice, following heavy rains.
Two houses are perched on a cliff on either side of the slippage and a WASA main has broken off.
Despite heavy rains, dozens of villagers came out to protest on Monday to beg for help.
Faced with no vehicular access, residents were seen walking on the edge of a slope to get out of the village where former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday was born and raised.
Resident Sheila Chandoor, who has been living there for 45 years, said elderly people were so frustrated to the point of suicide.
"Bread van can't pass, fish van can't pass, the ambulance cannot come in. What will happen if one of us gets sick? " Chandoor cried.
She said the recreation ground where they usually exercised is now inaccessible and they could no longer walk to the village temple or church.
"If we want to get out, we have to make the whole rounds about eight miles through Sisters Road to get out," Chandoor explained.
Villagers stage protests after the community was cut off by a landslip which claimed the entire roadway. (Image by KRISTIAN DE SILVA)
Principal of Basdeo Panday Preschool Nadera Arjoon said when school opens next week, there will be chaos.
"Children are now cut off from this point. We have been protesting since last year and we had no help from the government. No maintenance on this road. We have more than 15 landslips here. Lower down St Julien there is another caved-in land and if that falls too, we will not be able to use the other side to get out of the village," she said.
Arjoon explained that several communities including Upper Julien Village, Sisters Road, Sancho Road, and Hardbargain are all affected.
She said St Julien Presbyterian School and Hardbargain RC School students will not be able to get to school if the landslip was not fixed.
Resident Jerry Singh said families were breaking up because of the stress.
"People fighting, children crying, wives want things and husbands frustrated because their cars breaking up on the bad road," he added.
Works Minister Rohan Sinanan had said in an earlier interview that St Julien Road was located on shifting lands. He said repairs can only be done based on the availability of funds.
