Former Penal/Debe Regional Corporation councillor Wilvan Ramlakhan has backfilled into the Narine Persad River and erected a wall and fence in the middle of the river bed.
This development, which occurred some months ago, is being investigated by the Ministry of Works and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA).
The entire river had become a stagnant pool of filth. On one side, backfilling is taking place on lands owned by Anand Ramnarinesingh, chief executive officer of Anand’s Low Price supermarket.
Mounds of dirt were piled up on the river reserve and the river had narrowed to about two feet with the fenced backfilled land in the centre of the watercourse. The river was filled with plastic bottles and smelt of decay.
Larry Sammy, a resident of the area, said this was not the only watercourse in the Oropouche Basin which was backfilled.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen,” he said, pointing to the excavation works on either side of the blocked river. Sammy said during the last rainy season he lost over $50,000 worth of household articles in floods.
“If it rains for half an hour, we will see a lot of floods here because of what has happened with this river, “ he said.
Sammy said he has written to the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation several times to report the problem.
Another resident, Ronald Archilal, said: “The Ministry must intervene quickly and ask them to desist from doing any further backfilling on this river.”
Works Minister Dr Rohan Sinanan said a team from the Drainage Division and the EMA was in the area on yesterday and is investigating. He said the Corporation had the power to stop illegal activities that affect the lives of thousands of people.
However, chairman Dr Allen Sammy said the Corporation had no authority to act as the matter is the jurisdiction of the Drainage Division.
“We know there is an assault on our watercourses and 40 per cent of our region falls in the Oropouche Drainage Basin. We have reported the matter but the Ministry is very slow to act on these reports,” he said.
Over the past few weeks, Guardian Media has reported on backfilling of the Coromata River, Chineebass Channel and the Bhagmania river.
Contacted for comment, Ramlakhan said he purchased 8,500 square feet of land, four feet of which he lost to the river.
Asked whether he had received permission from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, the Ministry of Works, Town and Country or any other agency, he said, “Go get your facts straight and come back to me. You cannot question me on that land.”
Pressed further, he said: “I have my boundary. When I bought it we surveyed it twice. About four feet of my land went back into the river. I put a picket there and when I fenced, I fenced four feet inside.”
Ramlakhan added: “You have no knowledge of buying and selling land. I didn’t buy no river. I bought 8,500 square feet of land. Go back and get your facts and then call me.”
He then hung up the phone.
