Angry residents call for MP

SEVERAL angry residents of Eckel Avenue, Maraval, (behind HiLo Supermarket) yesterday, called for the immediate presence of their Member of Parliament, Colm Imbert, following the discovery of a woman’sbody floating down the street in flood waters three feet deep. But despite calls to his cellular phone and residence he could not be reached. According to reports around 2.30 pm following the heavy rains which caused Eckel avenue to be under three feet of water, a resident looked out and saw what she first thought was a mannequin. The stunned resident however gasped in shock when she realised it was a human body. The St Clair Police were contacted and they in turn contacted the Fire Services who came and removed the body from the raging waters and placed it on a nearby lawn.

The body was later identified as that of Taliha Charles, 53, of Debe, Long Circular. The identification was made by Charles’ son, Mark Alexander. Alexander could shed no light on how his mother’s body came to be floating in the waters. The body was ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy to be performed later today. However angry residents who were carrying out clean-up operations when Newsday visited, pointed to a nearby wide river with raging brown murky flood waters which filters into a small exit. This the angry residents said is the reason for their concerns. “For years, every time it rains heavily, the water overflows the banks because that exit is too small to handle the volume of water, especially when some big objects get stuck there,  bringing all kinds of debris with it. We believe the body came via that route.

“On more than one occasion we have spoken with the MP who promised to help, but to date nothing (was done), after several years the situation is worse. We want him to stop promising and start working.” When contacted MP Imbert denied not working on the situation, but said he blames no one in particular. “One has to go back about 60 years or more when the Debe river was over 20 feet wide,” Imbert said. “What has happened with development, as the river goes along, it gets narrower to as little as five feet, and very shallow in some places, This coupled with a number of pipes and other debris from the large housing developments in Maraval is responble for the flooding. Imbert said that “In the short term I intend to approach my colleagues in Parliament to extend the paving of  the Debe river which would assist in preventing logs and debis from entering the river.” Police in the meanwhile have said following the autopsy they will know how to proceed, although they believe the woman fell in the water during the sudden downpour.