Faced with imminent danger from a mudslide that has already buried the majority of the road, residents of Tabaquite are again calling for urgent action.
Due to quarrying activities, mud began tumbling two months ago onto the Tabaquite Guaracara Road, which is the main thoroughfare in and out of the area.
Gathered at the site yesterday with Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes, the residents called on the authorities to take swifter action to halt the mudslide.
Already forced to navigate their vehicles along the narrow bit of road, motorists are facing another danger.
They explained that the edge of the roadway is sinking and if it caves, a vehicle could plummet down a 20-foot precipice, most likely causing death.
Resident Steve Harrypersad complained, “It is real terrible problem for the school children, for the maxi, for everybody, it real dangerous. It have a wall on the side there that could collapse anytime. They move out about 200 loads of material and it have about 400 again to move out again. If rain fall from now to tomorrow nobody can pass. It real dangerous.”
He added the road is almost and in some instances impassable to emergency and heavy vehicles.
“So if you have an emergency, a sickly, an elderly to go to the hospital what is your position? By the time you taking to go Brothers Road and Piparo they might die.”
Harrypersad said the alternative route out of the community is much longer and the roads are deplorable. He said residents feel neglected.
“If this was in north side this clean already because we in Tabaquite we fall under the UNC, sorry to use politics.” Complaining that their vehicles are being damaged, resident Brent Bhagorati said he recently spent $6,500 to change a part in his vehicle. While the quarrying activity is under investigation by the authorities, he said road users are still in danger.
“What we are asking is that the State agencies act decisively, and very deliberately and swiftly to ensure the cause of the mudslide can come to the end because while we see you are maintaining the single lane traffic it is really a danger to those who pass here morning and evening. Every time you pass you not sure how far the mud will be, if there is going to be a mudslide as you are driving along.”
MP Haynes said she has written to all the agencies to prevent a disaster.
“The mudslide is bad enough but God forbid something happens to a resident on their way to or from work and we really ought not to have citizens living in this state of fear like they are facing now.”
