Princes Town becomes a ‘Ghost Town’

IN SHARP contrast to the fiery protests in Chaguanas where several persons, including two UNC MPs were arrested, anti-crime protest action in Princes Town was generally low-key, with the major form of protest being the closing of more than three-quarters of the business-places in Princes Town.

The normally bustling and hectic Princes Town, which boasts of having a number of supermarkets, variety stores, clothing stores, hardware stores, various haberdashery stores and several commercial banks, was reduced literally to a “ghost town,” with only the commercial banks and two clothing stores, remaining open yesterday — Budget Day. Princes Town MP Subhas Panday who led yesterday’s pro-test, attacked the commercial banks for remaining open in the town, despite calls for all businesses to be closed for the day. “This action by the banks does not surprise us as we have always said there has been a measure of collusion between bank employees and the criminals,” Panday charged. Panday, who was instrumental in securing the agreement by businessmen to close for the day, expressed satisfaction with the shut-down, saying that ordinary citizens were “fed-up with Govern-ment’s inaction on crime.” “Over 99.9 percent of businesses have shut their doors today and this action is to send a message to National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee and Prime Minister Patrick Manning that we are not going to sit back and let the criminals take over our society,” Panday said.

He added that a “more proactive” approach was needed to stem the tide of the criminal gangs. How-ever, after a walkabout through the town’s main street with a number of businesspersons, Panday noted that not all of the town’s businessplaces had heeded the anti-crime call, and singled out the commercial banks and a fashion store. Taxi and maxi-taxi drivers and operators also joined in the protest action, leaving dozens of commuters stranded on maxi and taxi stands. Schoolchildren were, however, noticeably absent from the streets as a number of primary and secondary schools reported a low turn-out, after parents opted to keep their children at home. And in sharp contrast to what transpired in Chaguanas, Panday then led a small delegation of protestors, comprising mainly businessmen and their employees, along the town’s main street and then to a clothes store which remained opened, blocking en-trance to the outlet. However, after intervention by police officers, the protesters agreed to allow free movement to the store. Panday said that a mass protest march was being planned for October 19.