Kublalsingh: Remove mound to ease flooding

The embankment was part of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway. But following the 2015 General Election and the subsequent departure of the Brazilian contractor, the embankment has remained an eyesore and has been identified by farmers as the chief reason for continual flooding in the region.

Floods associated with Tropical Storm Bret have not subsided almost five weeks after the storm’s passage and has transformed once lush agricultural lands into a virtual swamp. Addressing a media conference on the banks of the Oropouche river yesterday, Highway Reroute Movement (HRM) leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh said the aggregate, which had been quarried from the Northern Range and at Valencia should be “mined” and used in the construction of the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway.

“The farmers have to cross the highway or embankment to get to the land and the water is making it very difficult to cross this embankment and therefore the water coming from Siparia, Barrackpore, Valley line, its backing up here and causing tremendous problems and therefore if you leave this embankment here on a permanent basis, the agriculture here would never be returned to how it was before,” Kublalsingh said.

“So I intend to approach the Minister of Works, we have had very good meeting so far, remove this embankment, treat this like a dump, treat it like a quarry, treat it as a lay down yard and mine back all of this embankment here, take it to the San Fernando/ Point Fortin highway and use it there and build a simple bypass connector road here at the level of the street so people can cross and fix back the natural water watercourses,” he said.

Asked whether he would mobilise HRM members to remove the embankment should government fail to heed his advice, he said, “you know how much aggregate is there, over 100 thousand tonnes of aggregate from the Northern range, so what will I do, poor Kublalsingh, take a pick axe and go and clear up this embankment.” Farmer Bikery Sigobin, who farms over seven acres of land, said he had lost several hundred thousand dollars in crops as hundreds of citrus trees and mounds of ochroes, bodi and peas were drowned in the flood waters. He said while they were accustomed to floods during the raining season which would subside within a few hours, the floods associated with Bret had refused to subside as the embankment had trapped the water.

Another farmer, Devanand Soogrim, seemed to be on the verge of tears as he related how his livelihood had been severely affected as there were mounting bills to pay and he had been deprived of an income.