Let’s fight destroyers of the environment

THE EDITOR: Dr Mahabir Maharajh in his article entitled “Stop these demon truck drivers!” asked, and I quote, “And why is it that no one says a word?” Dr Maharajh was referring to the “nightmarish” trucking which persists in the Maracas Valley and Riverside Road — night and day. I have already published in the newspapers, two letters about the monster that is destroying the Maracas Valley. These letters refer not only to the “demonic and discourteous truck drivers!” as described in Dr Maharajh’s letter but to the activities responsible — the illegal quarrying, both in the watershed of the valley (the foothills of El Tucuche) as well as on the main road within a residential area — the Maracas Royal Road. These activities have been taking place in this Valley for several years despite the fact that the Maracas Valley (in particular the foothills which include EL Tucuche) was declared a protected area by the government.

As a result of this correspondence, the area was visited on at least two occasions by an official of the Prime Minister’s office. Subsequently, there was a notable decline in these operations. However, this was very short-lived and the destruction of the valley and the flouting of the law continues unabated and seemingly with no objection on the part of the responsible authority. I wish to express my joy in reading Dr Maharajh’s letter and in seeing someone else take up the fight against those destroyers of the environment of a once well-watered and unusually beautiful valley. And I take the liberty of offering Dr Maharajh not only my support but the support of those valley residents who in previous years, when an authority was a responsible body dutifully enforcing the law, enjoyed living in a valley rich in flora and fauna, boasting one of the island’s most prolific crystal-clear rivers — now reduced to nothing more than a sewer-type drain void of the flourishing bamboo-banks and fish life (river lobsters, crayfish, crabs, sardines, catfish, etc)  — that once abounded.

EVE ANDERSON
Maracas Valley