Hurricane strap initiative launched

About 30 residents from the corporations are expected to be trained to make houses safer. On Tuesday, the groups and Member of Parliament for Couva South, Rudranath Indarsingh, launched the initiative at Windsor Park, California.

The chamber’s president Liaquat Ali said his organisation is not only business oriented but also cater to the interest of citizens.

“We are not only here to take, we give back. We do not only represent the interest of business, we represent the interest of citizens. In recent times, and with the passing of Tropical Storm Bret, it was only fitting to educate the people how they can secure their homes at minimal cost,” Ali added.

The training sessions are expected to take place at the chamber’s building at Couva. It is his hoped that such an initiative can be extended “to the length and breath of T&T” with on-site demonstrations.

Indarsingh commended the corporation for being part of the initiative saying the disaster management unit (DMU) of the corporation has been very proactive in dealing with weather patterns which have affected people in their area.

Chairman Henry Awong beamed that the corporation was first to set up its emergency operation centre under the guidance of Dr Ravi Ramnath.

“We do what we have to do at the DMU and we continue to do it on a professional basis,” Awong said.

Manager (business development and marketing) of Sagicor Lisa Mahabir said the company was pleased to be part of the initiative.

It was a proactive approach in increasing awareness in our community, Mahabir said.