Overwhelmed with anger, frustration and concern over a major landslip in their community, residents of Papourie Road, Upper Barrackpore, staged a fiery protest yesterday.
Promising to reignite their protests if the road is not repaired, they said they were worried that the road will soon become impassable.
Residents complained that over the last six months, the road has caved in extensively and all that remains now is a narrow strip which poses a danger to all road users.
Meanwhile, the home of retired teacher Phenola Bachan, which is on the edge of the landslip, has already begun to crumble.
Yesterday, residents blocked the road with old tyres, oil drums and debris as they called on Works Minister Rohan Sinanan to commence urgent repairs.
Resident Lyndon Samuel, 70, complained, “Look, I so upset. That is my niece house, that is not $2,000 you know, that is millions of dollars there, going down the drain. Nobody come to assist no one here. When they knock on your door, you voting, you chook your finger and they forget you for ten years.”
Another resident, Shameed Ali, is concerned about school children who will have to use the road to get to and from their schools in three weeks when schools reopen.
“What will happen here with the maxis and the buses that have to transport children to and from school? It is really ridiculous and we have tried our best to get in contact with the authorities to give us assistance in getting this road fix,” he complained.
Ali said Papourie Road is a main access road to Princes Town and Moruga and if it becomes impassable, public transportation will be costly and the distance will be longer.
Meanwhile, Bachan said the situation is frustrating.
“It is sort of scary. Living in the house, sometimes you may hear a creaking sound and you wondering if a wall is collapsing. Besides that, in the night, sometimes when vehicles passing, you hear these loud screeching sounds and you wonder if someone tumble down in the landslip.”
In a previous interview with Guardian Media regarding the landslip, Sinanan said due to the amount of rainfall ,the land in Trinidad is saturated and in landslip-prone areas there has been a challenge but he said the ministry is trying its best to ensure that connectivity is maintained.