Barrackpore villagers still deep in flood

Hundreds of villagers of low-lying areas of Barrackpore, such as Papourie Road, Cemetery Road, Monkey Town, GP Road and Valley Line, continue to face the problem of floods whenever there are heavy rainfalls. 

A resident of Cemetery Road, John Sookram told Newsday that whenever the floods come up in the Barrackpore areas, everyone is affected. “First of all the taxis cannot work therefore there isn’t any transport to and from work. There is also an increase in sandflies and mosquitoes that invade the homes,” he said. He continued to say that the waters stay on the road for weeks after continuous rains. Despite the fact that the villagers have been supporting the councillors for the areas, the flooding problems have gone unnoticed for more than 40 years, he lamented. 

Sookram who has been a resident of the area for more than 50 years, said that the river that passes through Monkey Town needs to be widened to accommodate the waters that flow from Congo Hill and School Hill. He noted that the Government must widen the banks of the river in order for the waters to find its way out of the area at a faster speed. The Barrackpore areas are divided into the constituencies of Siparia and Naparima. While there was a lot of work undertaken by the previous administration in this area, where the police station and the multi-million dollar complex were built, there was not much done for the infrastructure in this area.

Another villager, Kisoondath Prabhu said that while the majority of people in Barrackpore supported the UNC government, while they were in power they did nothing with regards to the flooding situation. Prabhu cried political victimisation lashing out against the PNM saying that they are trying to alleviate the flooding in the areas of Mayaro and Rio Claro. “That is a marginal seat. And every district in these areas is enjoying all the services from the government. The PNM government will not look at the Barrackpore areas because the people here support the opposition,” he said. Following the heavy rainfalls last Saturday, villagers were forced to stay indoors for five days.