The residents of Tarouba speak

THE EDITOR: Please allow me space on your newspaper to publish the following article for and on behalf of the residents of Tarouba Road, Marabella. We would like to bring to the attention of Mr Rodney Lamsee, the Executive Director of the National Housing Authority that we, the people of Tarouba Road, Marabella strongly protest the illegal construction of squatter houses in the Tarouba North District (opposite the San Fernando Technical Institute, across the highway) on the NHA Proposed Housing Development, Tarouba North Estate.

Many of the residents in the neighbourhood have applied legally for land in this developing area and have paid large sums of money at no accrued annual interest rate (from the State) for the past +/-15 years and have waited patiently for the legal allocation of these lands. Our society used to be one filled with love, eternal friendship, and mutual respect for one another.  Where neighbours were considered to be family and looked out for each other. We cannot allow and will not allow illegal squatters to simply come in and claim these lands that our forefathers worked for many decades. These lands were toiled by our parents and grandparents, even after Caroni ceased. The State Agriculture Programme in that area in the late 1970s. Our ancestors worked hard and strived on these lands (home gardens) to supplement whatever little money they earned to put food on our tables.

We are extremely passionate about this issue and we hereby petition for the expeditious removal of these illegal occupants, as they are a direct threat to the development of our community. Our community is now plagued with thieves, gangsters and drug dealers and we appeal to the Minister of National Security and the Prime Minister for constant police surveillance of the area. We no longer feel safe in the village where our navel strings were buried. We also fully endorse the Authority’s proposal to include residential housing units to be constructed on the said lands at the Tarouba North Estate, and appeal to the authorities to allow the people of Tarouba Road to be given preference to purchase these lands at the current market price for State own lands in this area.

P J MUNGAL
On behalf of Tarouba Rd
residents, Marabella