Sinanan: Let the corporations discard appliances

He said the regional corporations, through the Ministry of Rural Development, have already been assigned the task to assist in removing the flood damaged items, and he added that the Ministry of Works will also do its part in assisting the regional corporations.

He said in some instances, some people may be anxious to have the items removed but he asked for some patience and advised persons to desist from dumping the items in water courses or in forested areas.

He said that to do so in the rainy season would result in water courses being blocked and people suffering the same consequences of widespread flooding while the fridges could collect water and become a breeding ground for some insects such as mosquitoes.

He said he visited Mayaro two days before Bret dumped a lot of rain in the country and checked water courses to ascertain what was needed to clear them.

He said once the flood water recedes, the Ministry of Works will be doing some dredging and removal of silt from water courses as well as debris.

Sinanan said he had visited some areas in Sangre Grande, St Helena and the Debe/Penal districts to see for himself what is needed in those areas and he said that work has already started with respect to the removal of debris from some water courses.

He said URP workers already started assisting in the clean-up in areas where people were affected by widespread flooding and he urged people to allow the URP workers to assist them in the cleanup exercise.

The Minister said he also visited the Barataria area and he has intentions to clear water courses in that area, including in Aranjuez where farmers experienced flooding and a lot of crops were destroyed.

Asked by Newsday if the relevant bodies are ready to deal with a hurricane or another storm the Minister said “we are ready as we can be.”