Hours after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocked T&T, a section of the Basta Hall Main Road in Couva caved in, rupturing a water line, and triggering angry protests by residents.
The road connects Basta Hall to Milton and the main district in Couva. The area has about 500 people, residents said.
A landslip had previously eroded half of the roadway in front of the home of Seeromanie Madoo.
Around 8 pm, two hours after the earthquake, Madoo said the main WASA distribution line ruptured spewing water across the street.
A WASA work crew arrived sometime later and to repair the line but left a gaping hole in the centre of the road.
Resident Nicholas Madoo said, "I cannot access my own home since the road caved in. If I have to enter my gates, I have to make the rounds through Milton, which is one mile and a half away," he said.
Sham Gaipersad, who works as a taxi driver, said fares may increase if the road was not fixed.
"Right now we charge $5 from Couva to Basta Hall but if we have to make the rounds we will have to charge $2 extra," he said.
Gaipersad said people were struggling to earn a living while officials of the Couva/Talparo/Tabaquite Regional Corporation were not listening to their concerns. Outgoing chairman of the corporation Henry Awong was unavailable when the T&T Guardian reached out to him.
Another villager Jacob Mohammed said he stopped working as a taxi driver because the high cost of maintenance for his vehicle.
"I had to spend $2,000 every month to fix my car and it was just too much.
I am working as a welder now because I cannot afford to work taxi anymore," Mohammed said.
Preetam Balkissoon, who lives close to the landslip, said the former Minister of Works Fitzgerald Hinds was aware of the problems. Councillor for the area, Gopaul Gangaram, estimated that it may cost $2 million to fix the landslip and the corporation did not have that kind of funds.
He called on the new minister Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan to visit the area and help them to rectify their problems.
Contacted yesterday Sinanan said he would work with Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein to assist the residents, even though the road fell under the jurisdiction of the corporation.