Tuesday February 9th, 2010
- Last update:11 hours 40 min ago
Constituents protest for roads, water...
Ramesh to seek help from CHOGM leaders
Published: 26 Oct 2009
Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj addresses residents of Cocopiece, Gasparillo, during a protest in the constituency yesterday.
PHOTO: RISHI RAGOONATH
Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj plans to approach the 52 heads of state attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for a donation to assist his constituency. Maharaj made the comment as residents of Cocopiece and Caratal Villages in Gasparillo staged separate protests over poor roads, lack of water, poor drainage, low voltage electricity and flooding. Camina Jamaluddin, of Cocopiece Trace, said for the past 23 years, more than 523 residents from the village had been suffering because of irregular pipe-borne water. “Right now we get water once per week from 10.30 pm to 3.15 am...The water comes so slow that it don’t reach in the tanks,” she said.
“Most of us depend on the rain for water and some of us buy water.” She also said that the road was deplorable and there was no drainage. “We can’t bathe regular like most people...We getting water bills faster than we could get water and we seeing too much trouble here,” Jamaluddin said. Another resident, Shameed Ali, said over the past few weeks residents had lost electrical appliances because of low voltage. He said electricity was regularly disrupted in the area. “When we sit down to watch TV at 6 pm, the current shuts down and comes back up. All our TV, DVD and video spoiling because of the low voltage,” Ali said.
He said poor drainage was a health hazard for the dozens of children who lived in Cocopiece. “Dengue is going around and we have stagnating water in the drains...We are tired of the problems we have to face daily in this area,” Ali said. Maharaj, who joined the demonstrators, said yesterday that the problems outlined in Cocopiece and Caratal were occurring throughout his constituency. “My constituents need relief...They do not have clean water to drink,” he said. “At Caratal, the foundation of their houses are crumbling because of the bad state of the roads.
“The road is so bad that gabage trucks and taxis no longer go in there.” He noted that he was documenting all the problems in his constituency. “I plan to approach each head of state at the international Commonwealth conference and ask them to give a donation to my constituency,” Maharaj said. “I will tell them that people do not even have drinking water, yet the Prime Minister is entertaining them on a yacht and giving them champagne.” He also said he was mobilising to have protests in Port-of-Spain during the conference.
COCOPIECE & CARATAL IN
COCOPIECE & CARATAL IN DESPERATE NEED:
From the descriptive material in this article I have to ask - Is this in T&T? It sound more like a low level 3rd world poor country.
But are we not the country that has spent $60M-US to put up the Performance Arts Centre we saw in yesterday's news. ($l-US = $6.33480-TT) - A fortune by any means.
Something is very wrong here. Can Mr. Manning please give us an explanation.
Mr. Maharaj you are on your own, with this plan of yours to go hat in hand to soilicit - beg for alms, from each of the 52 Heads of State when they come ashore in late November; and are being wined and dined by our Hon. Prime Minister. Very imaginative I must say.
Gardenia
Gardenia, welcome back. It
Gardenia, welcome back. It remains to be seen if and how Ramesh would follow up with his plan.
I too could not believe that there are people, human beings, living under such conditions in a country with so much money going to waste just to satisfy one megalomaniac's voracious appetite.
Maybe Ramjack should use their international contacts to twin their little towns with some in the developed countries, or get them to adopt some of their villages. But is Ramjack still an item these days?
Sometimes the local Ambasadors have extra funds to help in projects in the countries where they are based. Here again Ramjack could engage in some quiet diplomacy, no public fanfare to put off the diplomats, to get some relief projects going in some of these communities since it appears that this regime doesn't give a rat's behind for these poor rural people.
Even if the Ambassadors don't want to get involved, they can put them in touch with Charities in their home countries.
The Prince - Good Day:
The Prince - Good Day: -
He's got some real concerns for his people, but you know this is not the only areas that's been neglected in T&T. I am ashamed to acknowledge this.
I got 2 suggestions - Twin one area with Swaziland and the other with Haiti. 2 of the poorest countries in the world. King Mswai 111 of Swaziland may be coming in November. He lives in utter luzury in a Palace, has many wives - over a dozen? - young and georgeous, and each got a palace and a Mercedes, and takes frequent shopping trips to Europe, while the majority of his people live in abject poverty. His father had I think 36 so he's got a long way to go yet. And Haiti it's just a hop, skip and jump over the hills.
This is serious business, but I had a good giggle when I read it this morning. (Look at the mischievous smile on his face.)
You think he has the 'chutzpah' to approach the 52 with hat in hand? Don't think so .. just flapping his gums. But then again, my people can still surprise us!
Smile .... Gardenia
Gardenia, not quite what I
Gardenia, not quite what I had in mind. Maybe you can ask King Swazi when he comes for next month's CHOGM.
Yes, Ramesh likes a lot of gallerying. I remember him way back in the 60s/70ss when he was champion of the squatters. Some of the feedback I got from a couple squatters was that he was a conman. But whatever, he has a lot of talent, skills and energy. He could be a useful agent provocateur and catalyst for change.
The Prince - I know that's
The Prince - I know that's not what you meant:
But no one would be willing to twin with us to assist. Remember the U.S. took us off their aid list because they said that T&T is now a wealthy country. And the 52 Heads coming will see our delusions of grandeur and simply shake their heads, and should anyone have the courage to approach the subject, they may simply think us silly.
Plus all the developed countries are struggling with the fallouts from the economic crunch, too; and they have to cut around every corner. Twinning at this time, may be out of any programme..
We, collectively, created the problem, and I am afraid we may have to fix it ourselves.
Gardenia
Ramesh boy, you mad
Ramesh boy, you mad yes...
Like you trying to shame we in T&T or what?
No one told you that we are the richest nation in the Caribbean?
Just arx any member of the cabinet and they will tell you to "eat yuh biskit an shut yuh mowt"...
http://dsaltsman.blogspot.com/
Yes Gardenia, Prince &
Yes Gardenia, Prince & Epsom, I can vouch for what Ramesh is saying. I know these villages very well. Cocopiece was/is still like a Calcutta village in India, Caratal Road is bad, very bad and can be cut off by landslip. Its normal to get water once a week but the pressure is low. Yes people have to pay for water.
This is modern TT but has not changed in the villages, THat's reason there is a priviledged lot in West Moorings and a low caste lot in Poona, Caratal and Cocopiece. Reason: these areas are NOT PNM areas, fact, hence their human rights are violated, but I bet if they turn around and vote PNM they will get improvements.
But I must say these villages are mainly Indian villages and the AfroTrinis here are like our own family. THey go to our Indian weddings, eat from fig leaf with their fingers. We have a beer with them in the bars, talk politics, they argue, we argue but when come to voting they are PNMites but their votes dont make PNM win in these villages, not enough votes,. Hence they all suffer with us.And you know guys, you can call on any of these AfroTrinis to give you a hand, helping fix a house, they dont mind. There is no racial predjudice in the villages, only in town areas. you can see these guys get together and can play the tassa and dance Indian style, but they all suffer alongside us.
See, I thought you guys know about these villages in TT and you can go all over Trinidad to mainly Indian areas and you will see the same situation.
Thanks for the insight Mr
Thanks for the insight Mr Smith. I realise that Epson's dry sense of humour is filled with sarcasm. His eat your biscuit quip was really too much.