A Point Fortin mother of seven is pleading for assistance after her home was gutted by fire in the wee hours of Saturday. Nekisha Byron, 32, told the T&T Guardian yesterday she suspects her home was torched after she had an argument with a man in the area.

Byron said the man threatened to set fire to her house and she subsequently made a report to the Point Fortin Police Station. According to reports, the fire started around 1 am on Saturday, completely destroying the two-bedroom wooden house, located on Reservoir Hill, Point Fortin. 

After learning about the fire, Byron said she went to survey the damage.

“When I got there, there was nothing left...everything was burnt. But yesterday evening when I was looking in the ashes, I realised I didn’t see the fridge, the microwave or the washing machine among the things.” She believes whoever set her house on fire, cleared out her valuables first.

Byron separated from her husband seven months ago and moved into the house with her children, ages 18, 16, 15, 14, 12, 10 and eight. The children’s father, she said, cannot care for them as he suffers from partial paralysis as a result of an accident several years ago.

She said since moving out of his home, she has been supporting her children by doing odd jobs in the area.

“I hustle to take care of my children, cleaning, combing hair, selling clothes for some people...I live day-to-day to feed my children and send them to school.”

Byron also runs a Facebook page called ‘Delilah’ which she said is used to help those who are less fortunate.

“I am struggling to make things work for myself but I am always trying to help someone else as well. Through the page we have been able to get food and clothes to many people in need.”

Now, Byron is one in need.

All of her children still attend school and she is appealing to anyone who can assist her to contact her at 290-2568.

Even as social media “mischief makers” posted messages about his death to his Facebook page, historian Angelo Bissessarsingh thanked fans and supporters for their care and consideration during his illness. 

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Bissessarsingh expressed his gratitude to those who had shown support to him. 

“I want to say thank you... I feel very appreciative,” he said.

He is warded at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital in stable but serious condition battling pneumonia. 

Bissessarsingh, 34, who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2015, has been warded for a week now. He is being given antibiotics intravenously and also administered oxygen to help him breathe. 

His doctors continue to advise fans to stay away as visitors are limited to only immediate family. 

His aunt Patricia Bissessarsingh said the family’s appeal for blood donations had received a few responses yesterday. 

She said donors gave four units but Angelo’s frequent blood transfusions would deplete the supply in no time. She said he received three transfusions since Friday as doctors say his platelet level is too low to beat the virus.

She also dismissed the social media rumours about Angelo being dead as mischief and said it was one reason the family was trying to keep his condition private.

Angelo’s books, Walking with the Ancestors — The Historic Cemeteries of Trinidad, published in 2013; Snapshots of the History of Trinidad and Tobago, Virtual Glimpses into the Past and Pancho's Dilemma, all published in 2016, have earned him many accolades.

He was given the keys to San Fernando by former mayor Kazim Hosein (now Local Government Minister) earlier this year and the Hummingbird Medal - Gold during this year’s Independence Day awards. 

Dr Claude Khan is knocking “herbalists” who, he says, deceive diabetics into thinking they can be cured with so-called natural herbs.

Speaking at the South West Regional Health Authority's (SWRHA) symposium for World Diabetes Day at the Couva South Constituency Hall, Khan said those suffering with diabetes should only seek treatment from trained professionals. 

He said: “We are facing an onslaught of misinformation from the herbal community. 

“I know some of you don’t like that but I have no cover for my mouth when I speak here. It is because I owe it to my patients… there are people without one day of medical training who are selling drugs to diabetics.

“That is criminal. They should be locked up. The Medical Board should put things in place to prevent the misinformation that is going out.”

Khan pinpointed several local “wonder cures” that he said are fooling diabetics. “We are being told that (pill) can cure your diabetes. Dr Claude Khan is standing here today and saying that is rubbish. I am saying that rubbish (pill) may be good for some things but it cannot cure your diabetes. “It is misinformation. If you have a plumbing problem, you go to a plumber. You don’t call Dr Khan. Medicine needs to be done in a proper way by trained professionals,” he added. And although he is encouraging people to visit their local public health facilities, Khan said staff at those facilities were facing difficulties to get the equipment to treat diabetics properly. 

“Now I hope I don’t lose my job after this,” he joked, “but our dear Prime Minister said a few months ago we have to wean ourselves off Government dependency.

“What does that mean for our diabetic patients here? I want to tell you that some of the basic blood testing we don’t have it and we simply cannot deal with diabetes properly if we don’t give a blood test,” he said.

He advised patients to test their blood sugar levels frequently at home and get their blood work done in private labs. 

“You need to be doing your home testing and when you come to us you need to have your lab testing done and secondly you need to be on your medication,” he added.

Living with diabetes

When she was just 17 years old, Sascha Ramsingh was diagnosed with diabetes. She was told she had to give up chocolate, which she loved, all sugary food and snacks and start taking insulin once a day. It was a total change in her lifestyle but today the Chaguanas pre-school teacher says it has not been all bad. Ramsingh was a guest speaker at a symposium hosted by the SWRHA for World Diabetes Day in Couva yesterday. “My father is diabetic and he is on insulin daily as well. I found out about my diabetes when I fell ill and my parents took me to the health centre,” she told the T&T Guardian yesterday. Doctors prescribed a daily dose of insulin immediately and Ramsingh says once she monitors what she eats, she rarely feels the pressure of living with the disease.

“It’s just a matter of watching what I eat. I have to be careful not to consume things that are overly sweet. Sometimes if my sugar level drops too low or is too high, I have to lie down and rest because I feel faint and dizzy.” She advised those present to cut fast food and soft drinks out of their diets and to consume more water as she said it had been her saving grace.

‘I drink lots and lots of water and it really helps me to regulate my sugar. You would be surprised at the difference it makes in your life,” she said.

Ramsingh hopes to open a pre-school of her own one day.

As their school celebrated its 40th anniversary yesterday, students of Pleasantville Secondary School were urged by former education minister Hazel Manning to leave a legacy similar to her late husband’s.

Speaking at the celebration at the school, Hazel told the students and teachers that her husband, former prime minister Patrick Manning, always held their school close to his heart.

Manning was the school’s first inductee into its Hall of Fame and the school awarded 15 members of staff for long service, including Francis King, who has been a teacher at the school since 1979.

“I know that he was very committed and dedicated to the well-being of this school. He was elated when you won your first national scholarship in 1983,” she said. “And when I was Education minister, I was always asked to give you special consideration, you held a place of pride in his heart.”

Recalling the attention Manning paid to the school even when he was ailing, Hazel told the students, “For 40 years he followed the growth and progress of this school and as councillor Robert Paris will tell you, even when he was ill he would intervene to ensure support was available.

“And now he is no longer with us, my appeal to you is live one legacy that he passed on—and that is to become dedicated and committed to living a life of adding value to others.”

Noting the success rate of the school’s estimated 40,000 past students, Hazel told those present that leaving a legacy is no easy task.

“What about you who are sitting here today? Do you know who you are, why you are here? How are you impacting on your own life and the lives of other people?

“Do you have a purpose in life? I put it to you that when you can find that purpose and live it, only then can you leave a legacy.”

Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie on Monday in a Facebook post criticized the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), claiming citizens who were registered to vote in 2015 were "deregistered" for today's local government elections.

Tewarie subsequently said the issue was sorted out as those whose names were not on the voters list were advised to call the EBC.

"I have been working with the EBC and they have advised that those who cannot find their names on the list should call their offices and they will be allowed to vote once they were previously registered," Tewarie said. "Three of the six people who complained to me so far have been able to cast their votes."

Tewarie said he first became aware of the issue when he went to cast his vote in Tabaquite early this morning.

"I met one voter who complained that although she was registered to vote in 2015, her name was not on the list this morning. I advised her not to leave until she has gotten the opportunity to vote."

Tewarie said after the EBC was contacted, the woman was allowed to cast her ballot after swearing a declaration at the polling station.

Corporate Communications Manager of the EBC Dominic Hinds told the T&T Guardian that the issue was a 'normal one' that arises on election day.  He advised voters who encounter issues at their polling stations to contact the EBC at their hotline — 625-8994

An early morning house fire in Tarouba has left a family of four homeless and a mother nursing first and second degree burns at hospital.

Carl Guschard, 49, his wife, Rosanne, and the couple’s two children — Tsian, 21, and Leonardo, 14 — lost all their belongings when fire gutted their home at Bernard Julien Drive, Tarouba, yesterday.

Guschard, a driver at a security company, told the T&T Guardian he was asleep around 7.30 am yesterday when he was awakened by his wife for breakfast.

He said Rosanne usually prays everyday and yesterday was no different.

“She said she didn’t want to wake me so she went into our son’s room and lit the candles and said her prayers,” he said.

“She said before she left the room to wake me, the candle she had lit tipped over but she thought it was out.”

After waking Guschard, Rosanne went into the kitchen but several minutes later she began screaming as she noticed flames coming from her son’s bedroom.

“I heard her screaming and then she was shouting that the house was on fire,” he said.

Rosanne tried to put out the flames herself and received first and second degree burns on her hands, shoulders, back and head.

At the house yesterday, Guschard sat at a table in the yard as fire officers of the Mon Repos Fire Station carried out investigations inside the house.

With tears welling in his eyes, he said that his son had not yet been told of the fire, as the St Benedict’s College student was writing exams all day.

He said whatever was not burnt was covered in soot and ash, adding: “Basically everything is lost.”

Although he said his family might find lodging with family members for the night, they are facing a bleak Christmas season.

“Come forward and take responsibility for your crime.” These were the words of Joseph Changar to the murderers of his brother-in-law, Cyril Ramesh Maharaj yesterday.

Changar delivered the eulogy at Maharaj’s funeral at his Arena Road, Freeport, home yesterday.

Maharaj, 70, was murdered at his home sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning by intruders. He was beaten and stabbed multiple times. Family members believe that people from the area were responsible for the horrendous act.

“I am asking the perpetrators to come forward and ask for forgiveness, you acted worse than animals that night and thought you would get away with it,” an emotional Changar said. “What is so sad is a feeble old man was murdered inside his own house and you all continue to roam free.”

Changar asked mourners if they felt safe living in the once-peaceful community.

“We live locked away in burglar proof houses and we are still not safe, this is not fair. Do you feel safe living in this community? Do you feel the police and the Government are doing enough to protect the citizens?”

Changar described Maharaj as a family man who did not care much for material possessions.

Officiating pundit Rudranath Maharaj also called on those responsible to surrender themselves to police.

However, he said while God may forgive the murderers, relatives and friends will not.

“This was a premeditated act, you planned and schemed your way into this home and executed your plan. While God may forgive you, I will not, the families that you hurt will not,” he said.

“Defenseless was Ramesh, a 70-year-old stroke victim, and you took his life but now you are running for yours?”

Pundit Maharaj also advised mourners to organise neighbourhood watches and be vigilant at all times. MP for the area, Dr Bhoe Tewarie, also attended the funeral. He spoke briefly to mourners, advising them to be vigilant to ensure situations like that are not repeated in their community.

Ten months after years of abuse culminated in a vicious, violent attack on her life, mother of three, Rachel Chadee, is calling on those in authority to do more to help battered women in T&T.

At her La Romaine home yesterday, Chadee, 34,told the T&T Guardian that although the man who attacked and maimed is behind bars, she cannot live in peace as he has been granted bail.

On February 22, Chadee made headlines after a man doused her in acid inside her mother’s house and left her for dead.

She spent six weeks at the San Fernando General Hospital receiving treatment and another six weeks in a police safe house before investigators finally captured the man who attacked her.

“I was tortured by this man in my home for almost a year. He once lit a fire on the stairs and trapped us inside the house…if it wasn’t for my neighbors we could have burned alive in this house,” she said.

“All of that was going on and no agency or anything ever reached out to me…I felt alone and I began to feel as though I was a burden to the police, having to call them every other day because he was attacking us.”

She said as a mother of three young girls, her heart broke on learning the news of Shannon Banfield’s disappearance and death and she wants more attention to be placed on women who are struggling to get out of abusive relationships.

“There was a point when I felt like it was me who wrong. And all through that, I was facing this monster on my own with only my mother and children for support. The government and relevant agencies need to be more proactive. They need to liaise with the police and find out who are the women who consistently have to ask for protection.”

And as Chadee tries to piece together a ‘normal’ life for her daughters, rumors that her attacker may soon be free haunt her every day.

“He is in jail, but they granted him $100,000 bail and we have heard that his relatives are coming from abroad to bail him out. The police have already told me anytime he comes out, I will have to go back to the safe house until the case is finished.”

For Christmas, most children wish for toys and electronics but for the seven Seecharan siblings, their only wish this Christmas is for a place to call home.

Their wooden, two bedroom home, in Springvale, Claxton Bay, was destroyed by fire early yesterday morning, leaving them and their parents homeless.

Robin Seecharan, 59, a truck driver, his wife Raquel Babwah, 38, a housewife and their seven children, Brandon, 15, Antonio, 14, Jenel, 12, Christie, 11, Selena, seven, Anna, five and Crystal, three, were not at home when the fire broke out around 7 am.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Robin said he is at a loss about how the fire started.

“We didn’t have any candles or anything, nothing was left lighting inside the house, we just don’t know how it happened,” he said.

“Me and my wife went to the grocery with the three last girls when my sister called and said the house was on fire.”

“By the time I got here, it was completely destroyed.

“The only thing we have now is the clothes on our backs.”

He said he had recently purchased a new refrigerator and stove which were also destroyed by the fire.

Raquel said the family had gone to the supermarket early because she wanted to get an early start on her Sunday lunch of baked pork, macaroni pie and callaloo.

She seemed at a lost for words as she rifled through the still smoldering ruins, looking for anything salvageable.

Robin is appealing to anyone who can offer assistance to the family to contact him at 659-2148.

“We are appealing to anyone who can help us, we just need a roof over our heads for the Christmas. Right now, I don’t know where my children will sleep tonight.”

More info

Help wanted for the Seecharans

The T&T Guardian reached out to the Zahir Ali Foundation’s founder, Zahir Ali who pledged to try to assist the family in rebuilding before Christmas.

Ali said he would visit the family today to assess their needs and provide some immediate food relief.

Manager in the People’s Unit of the Ministry of Social Development, Asauph Ghany, also pledged to provide assistance to the family today.

One day after he was sworn in as Mayor of Point Fortin, Abdon Mason visited fire officers at the Point Fortin Fire Station and joined their call for a new fire station to be built there. 

But Fire Service Association president, Leo Ramkissoon says while the officers are grateful for the support, they are still waiting to hear something from their line Minister, Edmund Dillon.

On Monday, fire fighters at the Point Fortin Fire Station removed office furniture from a room on the building’s second floor and into the parking bay for the fire tenders. The officers cited health and safety concerns, saying the 85-year-old wooden structure was termite-infested and falling apart. 

“The new mayor and the chairman visited the station on Wednesday and they were appalled at the condition of the station,” Ramkissoon said.

“He vowed that he would be making representation to have the officers relocated and a new station built there.”

“He also promised that to have a detailed report done by the Health and Safety Committee of the corporation.”

But Ramkissoon said the officers are disappointed by the lack of response by Dillon, the Minister of National Security.

“I heard he told the media that he doesn’t understand how we can’t reach him, that he always answers his phone and he has constituency days twice a week in Point Fortin. But while this may affect the constituency, it is a matter that the Minister of National Security needs to deal with it. It cannot be dealt with a constituency office. I have two numbers for Mr Dillon, I can’t reach him, I’ve sent texts, emails and letters and still no response.”

He also knocked Dillon, saying if he is in Point Fortin twice a week, why he doesn’t visit the station.

“It is within in their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety not to report for duties at that station. They could report to another station but they have the right to remove themselves from a situation where there is a direct threat to their health and safety.”

Dillon, who attended a function at the Point Fortin Borough Corporation where the new mayor was elected on Tuesday, said he was aware of the station’s dilapidated condition.

“The fire station is old. I born and grow up in Point Fortin, it is older than I am. We have been making arrangements, so far, we have visited a temporary site for 

them.” He could not say when the relocation would take place “because it has to go through the government procedures.”

“They have to come and look the building, make sure it is okay and make the allocation accordingly. I myself went and looked at it a couple months ago.”

He said $11 million budgetary allocation has been approved to build a new station in 2017.

Dillon could not understand why the fire fighters have been saying they could not reach him.

With a team of 14 men working around the clock, the Seecharan family is hoping their new home would be completed before Christmas Day.

The family lost their home and all of their belongings to a fire on December 11. Through the generosity of the Ricky Raghunanan Group of Companies, construction on their new home has already started at Claxton Bay.

The fire left Robin Seecharan, 59, a truck driver, his wife Raquel Babwah, 38, a housewife and their seven children homeless.

As she looked on at the construction yesterday, Raquel’s joy seemed to have stolen her words. With her three youngest children around her, all she could say was, “I just so happy.”

The joy on the faces of the children seemed to spurn the men to work faster.

Job supervisor Ramsook Ramoutar told the T&T Guardian they are hoping complete the house by tomorrow.

Disappointed by poor sales, San Fernando vendors made an emotional appeal to newly appointed Mayor Junia Regrello to be allowed to ply their trades on the streets during the busy holiday season.

Michael Sylvester, a vendor on High Street, San Fernando ,saw an opportunity to bring his concerns directly to the head when he saw Regrello and former Mayor, now Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein, walking down the street.

“The vendors don’t mind contributing towards the (regional) corporation, but with a permit and a permanent spot.

“It’s not nice to be running from the police every day,” Sylvester said.

“It hurts my heart when I see police seizing people’s goods and they have to end up before the courts... nobody wants that for themselves.”

Hosein interjected saying: “You know I led the council for the past three years, I never pressured you all about vending on the streets.”

Shaking Hosein’s hand, Sylvester responded: “A lot of other mayors pass and it’s pressure for the small man—you and Mr Regrello were the only ones.”

Seeking to alleviate the fears of the vendors, Regrello told them: “We will meet after the holidays, around the second week in January, to discuss this properly.

“We need to come up with a policy that will prevent us from having this discussion a week from Christmas next year.”

Another vendor, who asked to be identified only as Alyson, said this is the worst year of sales she has experienced since she started selling curtain rods in front of a popular fabric store on High Street.

“Every day people are saying things will pick up but people have to know how they are spending their money in this recession,” she said.

“Recession is only affecting the poor people, why these big government ministers don’t take a cut in their salaries?

“Only poor people suffering.”

Now, his light shows have become one of the most highly-anticipated events in Williamsville every year for the Christmas season.

Mc Lean uses computer programming to create the stunning light shows, complete with Christmas carols, pop music, local soca and parang tunes.

He starts preparing from October where he spends sleepless nights programming the lights.

"Right now I am using LED lights on my tree that are capable of lighting up to 512 colours but I have to programme every colour in the bulb itself," he told the T&T Sunday Guardian.

"About four years ago, my youngest child asked me to add music to the lights and since then, I have been doing it every year."

It is a tedious task, but Mc Lean said it was all worth it when he sees the looks on the faces of his children and even strangers when the show comes to life.

"I let my children choose the songs and for every song that I want to add I have to sit and manually turn lights on and off.

It's done to sequence the lights to the music and then I programme the sequence into the control unit for the lights."

The T&T Sunday Guardian visited his home one night for a sneak peek at this year's production. Mc Lean fired up the show, starting with Adele's 2015 hit, Hello.

He even programmed a giant Christmas tree in his yard with the message 'Hello Guardian.'

The show was nothing short of stunning, a perfect mixture of the magic of Christmas and technology.

He estimated that there are almost 150,000 lights in the show.

Mc Lean's wife, Dianne, is part of the genius behind the extravagant light shows.

She said the shows are a team effort but admitted it was not easy to put together a show to wows visitors year after year.

"We usually start to prepare by October, sometimes we'll be up at 2 am adjusting the designs."

The launch is traditionally held the Sunday before Christmas and the lights are left up until mid-January.

While he was hesitant to reveal the cost, Mc Lean said the LED bulbs are quite expensive but last longer than regular incandescent bulbs.

"Every year, I would buy the normal incandescent bulbs by the cases but I made up my mind that this is the last year I am buying Christmas lights, because these tend to blow quickly while the LED lights can last up to five years."

Mc Lean said a few years ago they started inviting people over when they were ready to turn on the lights.

"This year is no different. I expect we will draw quite a crowd," he added.

As for next Christmas, he is hoping to offer his magic-making skills to those who want their homes to stand out as well.

Anyone wishing to contact Mc Lean can email him at delanojaime@gmail.com.

Today is not a day of merriment for Sally-Ann Cuffie. It has been about two months since she can no longer use her hands after her fingers were blown off by an illegal explosive.

The 48-year-old grandmother made headlines in November after her fingers were blown off by a scratch bomb on Divali night. She had snatched the illegal explosive next to her six-month-old granddaughter, Christa after it was thrown into the car while her family was out for a drive in Las Lomas #1.

With another festive occasion 50 days later, and promises by the Public Administration and Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie that he would do all he could to get the illegal bomb off the streets, the licenced firearm officer said the Government had not done much to help her.

Cuffie also assured her that the matter would be investigated and someone will be held responsible.

He had then said, “It is a sad thing to see how this has affected her life and her future...she should be paid some type of compensation by those responsible.”

Although she is out of hospital she said her pains continue. The dressings on her hands have to be changed regularly as she is diabetic and still at risk for amputation if the wounds become infected.

In an interview with the Sunday Guardian at her Phipps Trace, Talparo, home on Thursday, Cuffie said although she can hold baby Christa and play with her, her role as a grandmother ends there.

“I used to babysit her and her brother whenever I was home but now all I can do is hold her for a while,” she said. “I am in constant pain with my hands, the dressings have to changed all the time, and the nail on my right ring finger became infected a few days ago and the nail had to be removed.”

However, she is still happy to be with her grandchildren.

“Just to be with my grandchildren is a blessing..but I can’t do anything for them, I can’t even get them a gift for Christmas. When I was in the hospital, I was visited by people from the Ministry of Social Development and after everything, I was given a one-time food card for $400.

“What can I buy with $400? Me, who used to work all the time to buy nice things in my home? My hands are damaged and I cannot use them, that is not my fault!”

And while talk about stricter legislation on scratch bombs continue, Cuffie said she was left grasping at straws to survive.

“I was a licenced firearm security officer, now Social Welfare telling me they have to assess my home and see what I have inside...you tell me I work hard my entire life and they want to tell me the things I buy are the reason I have to suffer for the rest of my life?”

She said she was unsure how she will entertain her neighbours who usually come calling on Christmas Day. “This is Talparo, our Christmas is moving house to house and enjoying ourselves with our neighbours. I don’t even have a piece of ham to offer anybody,” she said.

Local Government Minister, Kazim Hosein made an appeal to private contractors, businessmen and ordinary citizens to join with his Ministry in its national clean-up drive next month.

Hosein called a meeting at City Hall, San Fernando yesterday with mayors, chairmen and chief executives officers of all the country’s 14 regional corporations to discuss the plans for the campaign. He hoped he can achieve his goal through volunteerism. 

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Hosein explained his plans for 2017 to clean up the country. 

“I asked all the mayors, chairmen and CEO’s of all 14 corporations to come forward to have this meeting in San Fernando about a national clean-up, which is scheduled to start in the second week in January,” he said.

“The clean up campaign involves removal of derelict vehicles, taking down all dilapidated buildings, getting rid of old tyres, batteries, cleaning of underground drains, cleaning up of open lots, basically it’s cleaning of the country.”

Hosein said that although the first meeting was hosted by the council he once lead, he was not showing favouritism but rather hoping to visit each corporation at least once a month. 

While the idea of the campaign was widely embraced, several chairmen, including head of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Henry Awong and Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman Martin Terry Rondon, expressed concern about getting contractors and citizens to volunteer their time and equipment to cause.

Both chairmen said they feared they may not be able to get contractors to commit to the entirety of the operation without being paid. 

|In response, he said, “Some of the chairmen were thinking about funding, now while we are in a period where funding is little we are calling the volunteers, especially the contractors and people who live within each community to come forward and assist in each area by cleaning up their villages, their cities, wherever they might live.”

He recalled the success of the clean-up campaign in the San Fernando City Corporation, which he spearheaded during his tenure as mayor.

“When I did it in San Fernando, it was very successful and people have heard about it (national campaign) and for the last three or four days, even Christmas Day, people were calling me—contractors and even ordinary citizens—want to be a part of this clean-up drive, I assure you all it will be a success.”

Asked about the cost to the Ministry, Hosein said a budget had not been finalised but when it is, it will be a small budget. 

Attorney General and San Fernando West Member of Parliament, Faris Al-Rawi, also attended the meeting and addressed the those gathered briefly. 

He described the campaign as a “grace period” and warned when it was over the corporations would act to ensure those who do not comply with the law are charged. 

He said the campaign was also a precursor for Government to bring legislation on waste recycling and waste energy production.

 Residents of Massahood Junction, Fyzabad, are appealing for Government to intervene to stop the demolition of 25 homes after notices were served on the occupants by State-owned energy company Petrotrin. 

The residents, led by councillor for the area Doodnath Mayrhoo, staged a protest yesterday and accused Petrotrin officials of trying to bully them out of their homes. 

The T&T Guardian obtained one of the notices dated December 8 which states: “It has been brought to the attention of Petrotrin that you and/or your agents have without consent entered upon Petrotrin’s Pipeline Wayleave and constructed a portion of a dwelling house upon the Wayleave situated at San Francique Road.

“This act constitutes a continuing trespass and is in violation of Petrotrin’s rights. Further, your actions pose a severe Health and Safety risk not only to you and your family, but also to our employees, agents and the community at large.”

The residents were given seven days to demolish the structures.

Turpatee Rampersad, one of the first to be served with a notice, said according to the specifications given to her by Petrotrin officials, her entire home must be demolished. 

She is a 70-year-old amputee who uses a motorised wheelchair.

“My son used to live with me but he had heart problems and died a few years ago,” she said.

“I live alone and according to this letter, my whole house have to break down . . . I living in that house seven years now but I born and grow in this village.”

She said the wooden two-bedroom house was built for her by the National Self Help Commission and if Petrotrin carries out its threat to demolish her home, she will be left homeless and penniless at the start of the new year. 

“I don’t have anywhere to go and they telling us they not going to pay us for anything. I asking the Government to come in and do something about this, don’t let them treat poor people like this,” Rampersad said.

Another resident, Richard Ramlal, also raised the issue of compensation.

“They telling us to break down entire houses but nobody don’t want to compensate us for what we going to lose,” he said

Ramlal was adamant that the pipelines in question are no longer used and claimed the company is trying to move his home to install new pipeline for exploration projects. 

“If you look at those lines they have huge holes and you can’t see anything leaking—how that could be in use? That has been like that for years but like they want to put down new line so they come to advantage we now,” he said.

Mayrhoo said the residents are asking for a meeting with Petrotrin officials, or failing that they will take legal action.

Petrotrin’s Head of External Communications and Branding Joy Antoine said the energy company embarked on a project to replace it’s lines more than a year ago and the residents had been served with sufficient notice. She said they are endangering themselves and others by building their homes on the pipelines. 

Antoine said the residents of San Francique Road are not the only ones affected as Petrotrin has already began changing lines from Point Fortin to Moruga. She said it was one of the consequences of building along the pipeline. 

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) President General Ancel Roget yesterday announced that the union will serve strike notice on State-owned Petrotrin on Wednesday.

In response, president of the energy company Fitzroy Harewood said Petrotrin was not prepared to increase it’s zero-zero-zero offer to workers.

“Given what now seems an inevitable strike action, the company has initiated a number of contingency measures to ensure continuity of supplies to the local market for petroleum refined products as long as reasonably possible,” Harewood said in a letter to employees.

“It also goes without saying that the company’s financial losses will be greater due to the loss of revenue expected during the period of a strike.”

If the workers go on strike, approximately 4,450 of the company’s 5,000 employees will be staying away from work for 90 days. Production of crude oil, which is used to make gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, will be severely affected leading to shortages at the pumps.

At an emergency press conference at OWTU’s Paramount Building headquarters in San Fernando yesterday, Roget warned citizens to brace for the effects of the strike.

“At the end of that marathon session between the OWTU and Petrotrin, conciliated at the Ministry of Labour, we are today nowhere closer to a settlement, so we have decided and we have confirmed that conciliation comes to an end on January 3, next Tuesday. The period for conciliation would have expired.

“The OWTU has taken the decision that we are not going to go for any extension and that on Wednesday morning, bright and early we are going to serve official strike notice on Petrotrin,” he said.

Referring to statements by Finance Minister Colm Imbert last week about Petrotrin’s board not having authority to negotiate salaries without the ministry’s knowledge, Roget said the union had expected a better offer.

“We thought he would have sent them with a position to close these negotiations and no such approach was taken and therefore we are nowhere closer to a resolution of these very important and critical issues,” he said.

Thursday’s meeting was the third round of conciliatory talks between the company and the union over negotiations for the periods 2011-2014 and 2014-2017. Roget said the negotiations were a political issue and he called on Government to intervene.

He promised that the union would be available anytime before Wednesday if Government decided to step in and “save the day.”

Roget did not state what figure the union might settle at but said: “Once there is a reasonable offer on the table, we will consider it. When you consider everybody else got 14 per cent, one per cent or zero per cent is not reasonable and they ought to be guided by what was the national settlement.”

He said the workers and union were not afraid of being condemned for their actions and would welcome debate on the merits of their strike.

“When you don’t get gasoline at the filling stations, don’t blame us. When you have problems at the airport to refuel jets, international and otherwise, local service and otherwise, don’t blame us. When the management says that they can guarantee a reliable service, which in normal circumstance they cannot even manage properly and the situation turns up-sided down-when that occurs, do not blame us,” he said.

Roget said the workers were also calling for the removal of Harewood because the company was suffering due to mismanagement.

Efforts to get a comment from Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday were unsuccessful as he did not respond to calls to his cellphone or voicemail messages.

In a letter to employees yesterday, Harewood said the strike action seemed inevitable.

Citing the company’s contractual requirement to make $1.2 billion in debt payments in 2017 and the fall in oil prices, Harewood explained that Petrotrin did not have the money to make retroactive payments for the 2011-2014 period.

“The cost impact of this is projected to increase the salary/wage bill by approximately $165 million at the end of the first period, with a pay-out of over $279 million as retroactive payment,” he said.

“Such an increase would serve to further exacerbate the situation facing Petrotrin’s business which has already been severely impacted by the approximately 50 per cent drop in world oil prices between 2014 and the present time.”

Harewood said if Petrotrin was made to pay any increases to employees, it could affect the company’s ability to meet operational costs.

“Any increase in manpower costs will result in increased losses and further exacerbate our cash flow situation, thus exposing Petrotrin to the risk of funds not being available to meet our operational requirements.”

President of the San Fernando Business Association wants the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) to hold its hand on strike action.

She said while President General Ancel Roget had a responsibility to OWTU members, he should also consider the cost to the country.

“I would ask Mr Roget to hold his hand.

“While he is well within his rights to bargain for his employers—because the workers are his employers—he also has to look at the economic state of the country at this time,” Bartlett said.

She said Petrotrin employees were well-paid and enjoyed a number of perks as it was.

“They get a $100 meal allowance every day. I have seen people use that to buy food for their entire families,” she said.

Citing the economic downturn and rising crime rates, Bartlett appealed to Roget not to put the country under further siege.

“We are under siege from all sides as it is. We can’t get foreign exchange to do business, burning and looting of business places is becoming more prevalent. We cannot leave our homes after dark ..we don’t need the further stress of not being able to get gas to go out when we want to,” she said.

Tributes poured in yesterday, as the news of the death local Chutney singer, Anand Yankarran was announced.

Yankarran, 51, was hailed by many as an icon in the local music industry.

According to his wife, Vidya, Yankarran passed away at the Couva District Health Facility around 6.45am yesterday after suffering from a heart attack.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Vidya said Yankarran was in good spirits minutes before his death. Yankarran had suffered from kidney failure for a number of years and was on dialysis.

“We woke and I tested his blood pressure andsugar (levels) and all the readings were good,” she said. “We went back to lie down and a little while after he started to gasp for breath. I called the ambulance and tried to resuscitate him myself, but when they took him to the hospital he had passed away.”

Vidya said she and Yankarran, who were together for the past 17 years, enjoyed themselves with friends on Sunday as they celebrated the start of the New Year.

The two met at a Mother’s Day concert in the US in 2000.

Of their romance, she said: “It just happened... I had known about his work before and when we met things just fell into place.”

They married and lived together in the US for 14 years before returning to Trinidad.

Yankarran enjoyed a vibrant music career while in the US and also performed in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, England and Canada.

The couple settled in Exchange Development, Couva, on their return, and Yankarran would record and release his last Chutney hit ‘Pak Pak’ in 2013 and perform in the 2014 Chutney Soca Monarch.

Vidya said Yankarran had no plans to return to the stage as he retired at age 50.

She described Yankarran as a very kind, loving person. “He was soft-hearted loved to help people; anything he could do for someone in need made him so happy.”

In an interview yesterday, Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) producer, George Singh said Yankarran’s death is a devastating blow to the local music industry. He likened Yankarran’s musical contributions to that of the “Father” of Chutney music Sundar Popo, who died in 2000 after ailing with heart problems and kidney failure.

“He made an invaluable contribution to the local music industry and we are all deeply saddened by his death,” Singh said.

ANAND’S LEGACY

Anand Yankarran shot to the spotlight in the local Chutney arena in 1989 when he recorded a jingle for the Stag beer called “Zindabad Trinibago.”

He would later record the jingle on his first album ‘Victory.’ The album also included his breakaway Chutney hit ‘Nanda Baba’ in 1989.

His other hits included Jo Jo and Ranga Dal. His last Chutney release was ‘Pak Pak’ in 2013.

Yankarran came from a musical family, as his father was the late legendary Indian Classical singer, Isaac Yankarran. His brother, Rakesh Yankarran is also a renowned local Chutney singer.

He was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Silver) for long and meritorious service to Trinidad and Tobago in 1991.

With live singing, a music truck and thousands of fans, family members and artistes in attendance, the funeral service for chutney icon Anand Yankarran resembled one of the massive chutney shows he participated in during the height of his career. 

Yankarran, 51, was cremated yesterday at the Waterloo Cremation Site following an extravagant send-off during which his wife of 17 years, Vidya, acted as one of the pallbearers. Vidya also performed the Hindu rituals alongside Yankarran’s daughter Deepa and his nephews during the ceremony. 

He died at the Couva Health Facility on Monday after suffering a heart attack at his Anand Yankarran Drive Extension, Exchange Development, Couva home. 

When the hearse bearing his body arrived at the cremation site, there were scores of people lining the path to the pyre, hoping to catch a final glimpse of the man hailed as a true chutney king. 

The music truck accompanied the hearse onto the compound, blasting out his hit songs while members of the public were allowed to view the body. There was also a tent where various chutney and classical singers performed throughout the day and the T&T Guardian was told the singing would last until late evening in tribute to Yankarran. 

During the service at Yankarran’s home yesterday, fellow chutney singer Samraj Jaimungal (Rikki Jai) said his death had left many feeling broken. 

“Anand has gone and there is a feeling of having been left empty and heartbroken. All of us sense that feeling and I do not know when we will be able to get rid of it,” Jaimungal said. “And yet together with that feeling, there is also a feeling of proud thankfulness that has been given to us, to have been associated with this giant of a man.”

Delivering the eulogy, Jaimungal said Yankarran had been blessed with musical roots from his father, renowned Classical singer Isaac Yankarran. 

“Isaac Yankarran’s musical genius was bestowed upon his children and moulded them into legends in the realm of local classical and chutney music, not only in T&T but the world at large. This cemented the Yankarran name forever in the industry and our nation’s cultural history.”

Yankarran’s daughter, Deepa, described her father as the funniest man she ever met. 

She said although he lived abroad during her childhood, she could always call him when she wanted and he would be there for her. 

“I would call him whenever I got the chance, three to four times a day and I remember my daddy was always there to take that call,” she said.

“He had so many jokes and when he wasn’t sharing them, he was sharing his valuable life experiences and words of wisdom.”

She said although she is Yankarran’s only biological child, he ‘fathered’ many others in his lifetime.

“He had lots of other young people who considered him their father and he considered them nothing less than his children. He always took the time to nurture and guide them in life as well.”

Yankarran’s long-time friend and former Housing Minister, Dr Roodal Moonilal, also heaped praise on the artiste, calling for him to be honoured by the public and private sectors. 

“I call on the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, the private sector, the friends and colleagues to install a fitting monument in the Couva/Central area in honour of this great son of the soil,” Moonilal said.

“At the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) we will request at the university level that a fitting tribute is paid, to make a ‘Chair’ for him, the Anand Yankarran chair for Indo-Caribbean Cultural Studies so his work can live on to inspire generations to come.”

Couva North MP, Ramona Ramdial, Couva South MP, Rudranath Indarsingh, Caroni Central MP, Dr Bhoe Tewarie, Princes Town MP, Barry Padarath, Chaguanas East MP Fazal Karim and Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh also attended the service. 

Local chutney stars, Ravi B (Ravi Bissambhar), Neeshan ‘Hitman’ Prabhu, Drupatee Ramgoonai, Soca Elvis (Michael Salloum), Devanand Gattoo, Boodram Holass, Lal Bharat and Adesh Samaroo were also in attendance. 

National Chutney Foundation of T&T (NCFTT) founding member Dr Vijay Ramlal and Chutney Soca Monarch producer, George Singh were also present. 

Prabhu, who said he was treated like a son by Yankarran, belted out the lyrics to Yankarran’s hit Nanda Baba before the procession left the house, bringing many mourners to tears.