The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper - Sharlene Rampersad

Heavy, persistent rainfall over the past few days has left Ministry of Works teams swamped with reports of land slippages across T&T. So said Director of Highways Roger Ganesh in an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday. Apart from land slippage on the Claxton Bay overpass, he said, “We had a lot of other failures across the country: land slippages in north, east, west. We had a lot of rain over the past few days and we are still assessing the damage.”

In addition to the recent collapse of part of the shoulder of the new highway from Debe to Golconday, Ganesh said south Trinidad had seen more land slippage. “We also had a failure on the connector road opposite the Vehicle Management Corporation of T&T (VMCOTT),” he said. “Apart from the one on the new highway, we have had other reports as well.”

Recent rain and poor drainage in Claxton Bay are mostly to blame for the land slippages in the area, he said. “We are doing some emergency works there right now,” he said. But he added the number of heavy vehicles using that roadway was also a major contributor. “The excessive amount of heavy vehicles using that ramp compounds the problem. “It will be repaired, once the weather holds up a little. It should be done within in the next week or two.”

He said the area was known for its unstable soil type and more emergency work had been scheduled to treat with this. “If you notice the whole ramp, north to south, has been unstable for quite some time. We have works planned to repair the ramp itself: there is a little drain there that caused this failure. “We are going to start emergency works on that very, very soon.”

Situation getting worse
Heavy rain over the past few days has caused a portion of the Claxton Bay overpass, including the pavement, to collapse. The T&T Guardian visited yesterday and spoke to aresident. “Since weekend the land start sliding away,” said Nicholas Francois, who lives at Forres Park Trace. “They (Ministry of Works) only come Thursday and put up some caution tape. They eh do nothing else.”
Francois said the landslip has been steadily getting worse. “Every day, more and more caving down. Just now it might not have a road for people to drive on,” said Francois.

Desperate residents of Mafeking Village Mayaro have had to become their own first responders, as there is no one to bring food and other supplies through floodwaters into the most-heavily-hit areas. The Sunday Guardian visited the small fishing village yesterday and spoke to several residents who say even though help has been forthcoming, they have had to carry in supplies to their marooned families and neighbours themselves. “The corporation bring hampers and water but is we self carrying it to everybody,” said Dale Mohammed, a 37-year-old resident of Chrysostom Trace, Mafeking. “Nothing can’t go in there. Last night (Friday) it had six feet of water by my house. we swim to come out and we had a small raft we carry in the stuff with.” “Is four of we doing everything, because it have plenty sick people and little children inside there who can’t come out,” said Shameeka Joseph, one of Mohammed’s neighbours.

For the past two days Mohammed and his neighbours have been surrounded by floodwaters that came from the Ortoire River, which broke its banks on Thursday after overnight rainfall. But they are just the tip of the iceberg, as on every street corner there are about ten people waiting for assistance. They are the ones strong and brave enough to carry supplies back to the others. Hundred others remain marooned in their homes and even though the water was receding in some areas, villagers say rainfall in Rio Claro or even Poole, will prolong their suffering.
“Once rain fall in Rio or Poole, all that water does come pelting down here,” said Mohammed. “We can’t even think about cleaning up right now, we only have to make sure we could have something to eat and drink.”

Chairman of the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation Hazarie Ramdeen, who was in the area meeting with residents, said the floods have affected more than 300 households in Mafeking. “We are unable to reach most of them on our own,” said Ramdeen. “The coast guard came too but it has mostly been villagers helping each other.” Ramdeen said the corporation is doing all it could to assist, including providing cooked meals, food hampers, mattressess and bottled water. “In every trace, there are a few of them who take in the supplies to the others. They really came together to help themselves and everyone else in their areas,” he said. Representatives of MP Winston Gypsy Peters, were visible in the area. They were assisted by teams from the Ministry of the People and Social Development in assessing damage and registering residents for food cards.

Residents in the flood-ravaged village of Mafeking spent the better part of their day yesterday cleaning up and throwing out flood-soaked furniture and appliances. Some of them washed and scrubbed their walls and floors themselves, while others were assisted by CEPEP crews. But even as they washed away the remnants of three days of flood waters from their homes, they kept an eye on the weather patterns, fearing a repeat of a disastrous flood of seven years ago. Their fears were magnified as the area remained under Level Two alert as issued by the Office of Disaster Preparedness (ODPM) on Sunday, when rising flood waters washed away almost four miles of the Mayaro/Manzanilla roadway.

The ODPM also issued a release yesterday saying teams will be sent in to assess the damage today and there will be additional resources sent in to assist the residents. The T&T Guardian visited Mayaro residents yesterday and witnessed some of the clean-up efforts by scores of residents marooned since last Thursday, when the Ortoire River burst its banks after days of persistent rainfall.
“In 2007 we had a flood something like this. After three days the water went down,” Chrysostom Trace resident Dale Mohammed said. “But the rain keep falling and falling and two days later it was flood again.”

Mohammed and his neighbours looked up at the dark skies with worry and fear as he spoke.
Over in Inner Mafeking Village, 62-year-old Stanley Myler also recalled the floods of 2007 as he went about his clean-up activities.
“We did get it back-to-back that time. It wasn’t so high like this time, but we only hoping the rain ease off a little this time,” Myler said.
His wife, Angela, lamented the late response of emergency personnel, saying, “They come quite Saturday and give we a bag of bread and a case of water, what that could do?”

Several other residents, including mother of four Annmarie Serano, also complained about the lack of assistance her family received.
“I buy that two months now, you know how hard that is for me?” she asked as she looked at the living room set she had purchased two months ago as it lay water-logged in the yard. “And we not seeing nobody to help we, to tell we what we could get help to get back.”

‘Level 2 not needed’
Mayaro MP Winston Gypsy Peters yesterday questioned the ODPM’s decision to heighten the alert level for flood-stricken areas in his constituency, noting waters had receded and clean-up efforts were under way in the eastern coast fishing villages. Speaking to the T&T Guardian at the regional corporation sub-office in Radix Village, Mayaro, Peters said residents no longer need to be evacuated from their homes.

The ODPM issued a release yesterday saying the area was under Level Two alert and more resources would be sent out to Tunapuna, Sangre Grande and Mayaro/Manzanilla, following the collapse of almost four miles of the Mayaro/Manzanilla roadway on Sunday. The release also said teams will be sent in to assess the damage today.
“What they want to take people to the civic centre (emergency shelter) now for?” Peters asked. “People homes don’t have water any more, they have been given mattresses and will be given more.”

Peters was responding to statements by incident manager of the Diaster Management Unit (DMU), Earl Hernandez, that residents will not be given any more meals or mattresses, but could be evacuated to the shelter because the alert was now level two.
“I understand what they are doing, but I am MP for the area and I will continue to give out whatever assistance to people that I can."

Taxi drivers working the Mayaro to Sangre Grande route have increased their fares by $28 a passenger as they now have to use an alternative route after flood waters washed away about four miles of the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road on Sunday.

The hike came even as members of the communities continued their clean-up operations and the Disaster Management Unit of the Ministry of Local Government shut down their operations in Mayaro after the Level Two alert for the eastern community was lifted.

The T&T Guardian spoke to taxi drivers who were awaiting passengers to go to Sangre Grande in Mayaro yesterday and one of them, Gerry Audain, explained the reason behind the price hike. “Well, the fare was $12 when we used the Manzanilla stretch but now we are charging $40 because we have to pass through Rio Claro and Biche to get to Grande,” he said.

Audain said while some customers have complained about the increase others just bear it. “One trip down used to take about 45 minutes on the ‘Manzan’ road. Now it taking us one hour and 45 minutes to reach Grande.”

He said out of the 20 drivers who usually ply the route, only ten have been working since the road was washed away. “Most of the fellas not coming out. They don’t want to work their cars on the bad roads. “For the day now, where we used to make four and five full trips (back and forth), now we lucky to make one,” he said.

Audain said the increase in the fare was also for the convenience passengers are afforded in not having to take multiple taxis to get to Mayaro or Sangre Grande. But passengers using the route, like school teacher Velda Henry, said they did not know how much longer they could afford to pay the steep fares.

Henry, a Food and Nutrition teacher at Guayaguayare Secondary School, who lives in Arima, said her travelling costs have doubled since the increase. “Normally I spend $70 a day on transport, now I spend $130 every single day just to come to work,” she said.

With an asthmatic daughter to take care of, Henry said the cost was just too high for her to bear. “I don’t have a choice. I have to come to work but now three-quarters of my salary going in travelling,” she lamented.

During the interview with Henry, a PTSC bus drove into Mayaro, with a sign saying “Mayaro/Sangre Grande.” The PTSC yesterday implemented a free service to Sangre Grande and Mayaro to provide some relief to commuters.

Henry and another commuter, Gloria Marcano, expressed joy upon seeing it, as the bus driver confirmed the service was free. The driver, who did not want to give his name, spoke to the T&T Guardian briefly, explaining that yesterday was the first day of the free service. “It’s only today we started. We are supposed to make five return trips for the day, I think. A lot of people are glad to save that taxi fare,” he said.

A father of one and a Form Four student are dead and three others hospitalised after the car they were travelling in collided with a truck in Siparia yesterday. The accident was one of two in the southland yesterday. According to reports, around 3 pm Nicholas Phill, 25, of Robert Hill Trace, Siparia, was driving his Nissan B14 car when it picked up a skid coming down a hill and collided with a truck loaded with dirt on Robert Hill.

Phill, who lived minutes away from the scene of the accident, was nearly decapitated by the impact and firefighters had to use the jaws of life to remove his body from the mangled wreck. His front seat passenger, Kai Lewis, 16, a student of the Fyzabad Anglican Secondary School, was also killed instantly. Lewis’s father was on the scene but was too distraught to speak to the T&T Guardian.

The truck driver, who was not identified, along with the two school boys who were in the back seat of Phill’s car, which he was working as a “PH” taxi, were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). Phill’s father, Errol, said a leaking WASA pipeline may be the reason why he lost his only son. “He was coming down the hill and he pick up a skid. You could see the truckman tried to ‘brakes’ from hitting him but he (Nicholas) still run into it.

“This water on the road here two weeks now. WASA not doing anything about it. It already form moss here,” he said. He described his son as a loving, obedient child who never disrespected him. “Nicholas never steups at me, never give me backtalk. That boy was really the best son,” he said. He sent out sympathy to the family of Lewis. “I want them to know I grieving for my son and theirs. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them while they was here but I want them to know how sorry we are for their loss.”

Phill’s common-law wife, Melissa Baptiste, was inconsolable last night as she related the last time she saw him alive. The couple has a two-year-old daughter named Shania. “Daddy supposed to be on the bed all now, playing with you,” she wailed. Little Shania was already asking when her father was coming home, Baptiste said. She described Phill as a loving, humble man who was working taxi to ensure his family had enough for the Christmas season.

“I tell him stay home today, he say ‘no,’ he will go and come back in time to go to church for 6 o’clock,” she said. The couple were planning to get married next February.

The father of the schoolboy killed in an accident on Wednesday is appealing to schoolchildren to use the transport provided to them by their schools and stop traveling in PH taxis. Keith Lewis, of Sudama Alley, Siparia, whose 16-year-old son, Kai, died in the accident along with the car’s driver, Nicholas Phills, spoke to the T&T Guardian while awaiting his son’s autopsy report at the San Fernando mortuary yesterday.

Phills was nearly decapitated in the accident after he skidded on the wet roadway and slammed into a truck on Robert Hill, Siparia. “Kai used to always use the maxi but recently he started following his friends and travelling in taxis,” the distraught father said.
“If he was on the bus, this would never had happened to him,” he added.

“The school provides a bus service. Those drivers are trained in defensive driving. They know how to handle themselves properly on the road,” he said. He sent a message to “PH” taxi drivers as well. “PH drivers also need to understand they have the lives of children in their hands. Right now I know everybody hustling to make a dollar but you have to stop and think about what you are doing.”

Another student injured in the crash, Abeola Henry, 15, remains in a critical condition.

A Princes Town woman had to have emergency surgery yesterday after a 20-foot beam fell approximately 25 feet from a roof and hit her while she was working inside a supermarket. Sherry Davis, 30, of Cedar Hill Village, Princes Town, was at Super Foods Supermarket, Claxton Bay junction, around 10.30 am when the beam fell on her.

The building is under renovations and the owner is constructing a roof. An eyewitness said the beam was on scaffolding, which shifted, causing it to come crashing through the ceiling and hit Davis who was in the meat room. Her left arm was crushed as she tried to shield her face as it came towards her. She was unconscious for about four hours.

Doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital, where she was taken by ambulance, ordered an X-ray and CT scan to see whether there was any injury to her skull. Davis’s common-law husband, Roger Kennedy, 38, is calling for an immediate investigation. He said no report was made to the police and one of his wife’s co-workers called him two hours after she was injured.

“When it happen, they just call an ambulance and got her out of there. They never made any report to the police,” he added. St Margaret’s police confirmed no one had reported the incident to them. Kennedy added he was shocked that the supermarket was open for business as usual an hour after the accident. The T&T Guardian visited the supermarket around 11.30 am and spoke to the owner, who said: “I don’t need this kind of publicity now. Don’t write this.”

The owner, who did not want to give his name, said the contractor and his employees had left for lunch were due to resume work later. Several staff members, speaking anonymously, said they were fearful for their lives.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has defended her decision to host a Christmas hamper drive for the needy at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s today, saying the move was in keeping with her promise to open up the facility to citizens. She made the comment yesterday as she responded to a call by Arouca/Maloney MP Alicia Hospedales for invitees to stay away from the event.

“I didn’t hear (the statement) but if such a statement was made I think it was most unfortunate,” Persad-Bissessar said during the PM’s Christmas Treats function at the Mayaro Resource Centre, Mayaro. “Remember when I became PM, I said I would open up the Diplomatic Centre to everyone. Because these persons may be vulnerable does not mean that they cannot come to the Diplomatic Centre for any event.”

Labelling Hospedales’ statement unfortunate, the PM added: “No, I took a decision and I am very happy with that decision that we would invite them there, we would treat them and of course also give them their hampers.” In a press release, Hospedales knocked the PM for “exploiting poor people” who would have to find money to travel to the centre for a hamper. But Persad-Bissessar said the recipients would not have to worry about transport.

“No, the Ministry of People contacted the recipients and offered transport, if it was needed, so it is not as though they have to pay a taxi fare. I understand that not everyone would be able to pay transportation costs to get there.” She added that by making use of the Diplomatic Centre, Government was also saving money.

“We used that venue, which was very appropriate, otherwise we would have had to rent another venue, like the Hyatt perhaps, or rent a venue like Napa, which is still under repair.” In a press release, Hospedales told beneficiaries to preserve their dignity and worth and not allow themselves to be exploited by the Prime Minister, or anyone else who was interested in making a public relations “pappyshow” of their current social and economic status.

“Boycott any event that seeks to ridicule you, exploit you and diminish your dignity and worth,” she added.

Amidst rumours that government’s $55 million allocation to churches for the Christmas season is an election gimmick, Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) President Harrypersad Maharaj has defended the allocation, saying it is nothing new. Maharaj said the People’s Partnership government has been allocating money to churches every Christmas season since they came into power. “This is nothing new, all religious organisations have been receiving grants over the past years,” he said.

“I don’t understand how some people can say it (allocation) is because it’s an election year. Maybe it’s because the amount was announced in a lump sum.” Maharaj admitted that members of some organisations had spoken out, refusing the money. “I have dealt with people in the past where one or two members say they don’t want the money, but when other members of the same organisation gratefully accept the assistance.”

He said the money was used to put together hampers for the less fortunate in communities and also to upgrade churches. Contacted for comment, National Diversity minister Rodger Samuel said he preferred to focus on those who would take the allocation and put it to good use, rather than those who would decline it. “I am tremendously happy that many people will accept and that fills my heart with joy as opposed to those who will choose to decline,” he said.

He said a list of churches that declined the offer would only be available after all money had been allocated. However, he admitted that churches have refused the allocation in the past. “Last year I gave a cheque to a pastor and he refused. Even when I told him change it and give it to the poorest members of the congregation, he still refused, that was last year.” However, he did say if the gesture was intended as political, it would not have been done the way it was.

“The PM stood up in Parliament and asked all 41 MPs to bring a list of churches in their constituencies. How can that be an election gimmick?”

Chief executive officer of the Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC) Jameel Ameeral has denied a request by the council to approve a $185,000 retreat to Tobago, saying it is not council business. He also knocked members for making private correspondence between himself and chairman Aiknath Singh public.

Ameeral made the announcement at the 14th statutory meeting of the PTRC at Hosein’s Building, High Street, Princes Town. At the time, he was responding to questions posed by Saint Julien councillor Latchmi-Narine Ramdhan regarding a letter sent by him (Ameeral) to chairman Singh. Ramdhan told the council he was in possession of a letter from the CEO to the chairman, in which the CEO declined to meet with the council regarding the retreat and questioned the motive behind the retreat.

“That correspondence, which councillor Ramdhan and others were waving copies of, was sent under confidential cover and addressed to the chairman,” Ameeral said. “They used it to make their contribution at this statutory meeting, which is in fact a public meeting. I’m not sure of what the motive behind this.” He also chastised members for the manner in which the correspondence was brought before the council without the knowledge of all members.

“And I will indicate that if correspondence is coming before this council, it ought to be properly tabled and each member must be given a copy of the correspondence so they can make their contribution,” he said. “So I deem the correspondence not to be appropriate before the council at this meeting.” He also pronounced that the proposed retreat to Tobago is not council business.

"And I deem this meeting to be a council meeting and the meeting at Tobago not to be a council meeting.”

Despite his mother’s efforts to shield his tiny body with her own, three-year-old Ravendra Gattoo was killed instantly when a truck slammed into the vehicle his family was travelling in along the M2 Ring Road, yesterday morning. Five other members of his family were rushed to hospital for treatment, with his mother listed in critical condition. Around 11.15 am yesterday, Ravendra, his mother Samantha Gattoo, his six-year-old sister Stacy, all of Bejucal, Cunupia and his grandparents, Laloutie Balraj and Balraj Maniram of Barrackpore, were travelling in a Mitsubishi four-door van driven by Gattoo’s cousin, identified only as Kumar.

According to relatives at the scene, as soon as Kumar entered the M2 Ring Road in Picton, he saw the truck, with a 40-foot trailer, swerving along the roadway from a few hundred feet away.
Relatives said Kumar thought the truck would not hit the van if he came to a complete stop while the truck was still at least two hundred feet away from them. However, the truck never stopped and hit the right side of the van, forcing it into a ditch on the side of the road.

Ramoutar Balraj, the uncle of the dead child, who spoke to the Guardian at the scene, said his sister and her children were visiting their grandparents in Barrackpore over the weekend and Kumar was taking them back to their Bejucal Road, Cunupia home. “They come to spend holidays and Kumar was dropping them back home,” said Balraj. “I don’t know how my sister will take this, she don’t even know yet.”

Balraj said Samantha, his only sister, was accustomed to spending time with her family in Barrackpore. “Mantha (Samantha), does always bring the children to spend time with my mother and father. Everybody loved them two children, just yesterday I was playing with him and look at him now, just lie down there,” he said, with tears running down his face.

He is calling for justice for his nephew’s death. “The truck driver should be charged, he telling the police ‘Is just ah accident,’ but them truck drivers doh care if people dead or live. He could have swerved to the other side of the road! Look at that child, he life ent even start yet. I hope they lock him up!” The child’s father, Rocky Gattoo, who rushed to the scene when he was given the news, stood in the rain looking on at the body of his three-year-old son, unable to speak. The driver of the truck, who was not identified, remained on the scene speaking to police after the accident. He appeared unhurt.

The last thing Omattie Gattoo remembers before falling unconscious on Monday after a truck smashed into the van in which she was travelling is hearing her father cry out that her infant son was dead. When she regained consciousness hours later she begged family members to tell her if her son Ravendra was really dead.

Three-year-old Ravendra died instantly on Monday when a truck slammed into the four-door pickup the family was travelling in on the Picton M2 Ring Road. His grandparents, sister, mother and uncle were also in the van, which was driven by Gattoo’s cousin, Kumar Balraj. Balraj told relatives he saw the truck swerving towards them and stopped the van, hoping the truck would not hit them, but the truck rammed into the right side of the van, killing Ravendra.

The family were heading to drop off Gattoo and her children at their home on Bejucal Road, Cunupia, after they had spent the weekend with the grandparents in Barrackpore. All other relatives were treated and discharged but the 34-year-old mother of two remains warded at the San Fernando General Hospital. At hospital yesterday, Gattoo was unable to speak. Her brother, Ramdeo Balraj, said she sustained injuries to the right side of her body when she attempted to shield her son.

“Her right hand and foot are both broken and her right eye has a deep cut. Her entire body is covered with cuts and bruises from the glass,” he said. “She has to have surgery today for them to determine how deep the cut in her eyeball is.” Balraj said his sister also had to have an MRI and CT scan to check for injuries to her head.

“They (doctors) are also sending her for an MRI and a CT scan, but they advised us to pay privately for the CT scan as they said the machine in Mt Hope not working and Sando (sic) does not have a machine.” An autopsy done at the Forensic Science Centre yesterday by pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes on Ravendra’s body said he died of blunt trauma to the head. His father, Rocky Gattoo, said he was unsure when the funeral service for Ravendra would take place.

Arrive Alive to truck drivers: Slow down
Arrive Alive president Sharon Inglefield said yesterday Ravendra’s death had brought the number of road fatalities for 2014 so far to 160. The number of minors, not including Ravendra, up to December 16, was five compared to nine minors for the same period in 2013. Inglefield appealed to drivers of ‘heavy-T’ vehicles to be more mindful on the roadways, especially when it is raining.

“We are appealing to drivers of heavy-T vehicles, please obey the speed limit and adjust speeds when the roads are wet,” she said. “Be aware of the distance it takes for your vehicle to stop.”

Standing among the ruins of the home his parents left him years ago, Rampersad Babute found a reason yesterday to smile for the first time since he was told his house was destroyed by fire on Tuesday evening. Babute and his brother Dhanraj, his (Dhanraj’s) wife, Suzette and their three sons’ Stephon, 14, Sean, 11 and Shane, six, were paid a visit yesterday by Works Minister Surujrattan Rambachan and Unemployment Relief Programme manager Kenrick Castellano.

Rambachan promised the family a new home for 2015 after their house at Cedar Hill, Claxton Bay was destroyed by fire. “We are going to construct a three-bedroom starter house, at least so they could have a roof over their heads,” said Rambachan who spoke to the media during the visit. “With three bedrooms because the family has three little boys.”

The family lost all their possessions in the blaze and are blaming the incident on T&TEC workers who were conducting works in the area at the time. Rambachan said the construction would begin as soon as the final fire reports are completed.

“All I am awaiting now is the final fire report and the report from T&TEC because they have to do their own independent investigation,” said Rambachan. “Because the family is claiming there was some work being done by T&TEC directly in the area. Once I have those reports in my hand we are going to move forward and help them start to rebuild.”

The minister said arrangements were already being put in place to bring material on site to begin construction. “In fact, I have already spoken to Mr Castanello about bringing the blocks and dropping them off next week and I have already spoken to contractor Mr Lutchmeesingh, who has agreed to clear the rubble from the site.” Rampersad, with tears in his eyes was elated with the news.

“I can’t tell you how happy we all feel today to hear this news,” he said. “It feels like we can finally breathe since this happened.” Rambachan also told the family to visit him with book lists for the children at his constituency office and he would provide them with all the books and uniforms they needed.

The tradition of ringing in the New Year with a bang is fading with many preferring to have a quiet night at home with family. With not one Happy New Year hat or banner on display, store owners, street vendors and consumers are all saying the same thing—there will be no big celebrations this year. The Guardian took to the streets of San Fernando to find out what preparations were being put in place for the start of 2015 in the Southland.

However, the streets were mostly clear, with stores empty for the most part, despite discount prices and sales. President of the San Fernando Business Association, Daphne Bartlett, said the lack of a festive spirit was evident as consumers have begun to wise up about falling oil prices. “Sales are still down, people are shopping cautiously now as they have become aware of the falling oil and gas prices,” said Bartlett.

“Consumers are holding on to their cash, even though most stores still have unusually high discounts.” She said business owners would now have to find ways to improve their practices including embracing technology. “Its not all doom and gloom, once you can diversify your business you will survive. Putting part of your business online could be a viable option.” She called on government to move decisively to diversify the economy as well. Street vendors also complained of slow sales.

Celebrating at home
The Guardian spoke to people on the street to find out how they would be bringing in the new year. Shenelle Dabreau, from Princes Town, said she would treasure the time with her family, even though there would be no big celebration. Fareed Hosein, of South Oropouche said he was looking forward to spending the night with his children at church.

Contractor Alana Goodridge-George, expressed her wish for 2015. “I am hoping for work. I run my own business and government is not giving out contracts like they used to. I hope it picks up because if it doesn’t, I’ll have to start letting go employees.”

Animals Alive on fireworks
Vice president of Animals Alive, Jowelle De Souza, expressed hope that the tradition of bursting fireworks is a dying culture. “I think the public is becoming more aware and much more concerned of the effects fireworks have on our pets,” she said. De Souza offered up some advice to pet owners to keep their pets calm during noisy fireworks displays. “Keep your pets indoors and it helps to turn on the television really loud, so they don’t get too scared by the noises.”

Relatives of Omattie Gattoo are hoping she will be well enough to attend the funeral service of her three-year-old son, Ravendra, which has been set for tomorrow. In an interview, Rocky Gattoo, Omattie’s husband, said the Ministry of People and Social Development had offered to pay for the child’s funeral. “Hopefully, she (Omattie) would come out the hospital for the funeral,” he said.

Ravendra was killed on Monday when a ten-wheeler truck slammed into the four-door pickup driven by the child’s uncle, Kumar Balraj. Omattie was holding Ravendra when the truck struck them. Her six-year-old daughter, Stacy, and her parents were also in the van. The family was on its way to drop off Omattie at her Bejucal Road, Cunupia, home, after she and her children had spent the weekend in Barrackpore.

Gattoo said Stacy was staying with her grandparents while her mother remained hospitalised, but the families would be reunited for the funeral in Bejucal. “The funeral will take place in Bejucal and everybody will come up here.” The body is expected to be cremated at the Caroni Cremation Site. Asauph Ghany confirmed that he and other officials from his ministry would visit the family today.

“Yes, we will be going there. There will also be a senior social worker who is a counsellor going with us, to offer whatever support we can to the family.” Meanwhile, Gattoo was discharged from the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday. “She have real pain in she back, head and hand,” said her brother Ramoutar Balraj in a telephone interview.

Gattoo was discharged from the hospital around 11.30 am. Balraj said the funeral service for Ravendra will take place tomorrow at their Bejucal, Cunupia home and then Caroni Cremation site.

Close to 1,000 primary schools students were without teachers on the first school day of the new school term yesterday as teachers stayed away from three primary schools.

Second vice president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai said yesterday teachers stayed away from the Princes Town #2 Presbyterian School, the St Therese RC School, Rio Claro, and the Mt D’or Primary School.

He explained: “The two South schools have the same problem where the buildings are threatened by landslips.

“When teachers turned up at the Mt D’or school this morning, they discovered it was still under construction so they left as well.”

Doodhai said the problems at the South schools were ongoing and he called on the ministry to address those problems.

“Since last term, the St Therese RC was closed as the ministry sent a message to parents to keep their children away but they still wanted teachers to come to work.

“Teachers at the Princes Town Presbyterian would have walked out last term as well and we are still awaiting a structural integrity test to be carried out on that building,” he added. A shift system was to be put in place at two other schools to accommodate the students of the affected schools, Doodhai said.

“We understand some kind of shift system will be put in place at the South schools where the Poole RC School and the St Therese will be used to accommodate students from the two other schools,” he added.

He said the lengthy ongoing construction of the Rio Claro Primary School was another problem.

“We are urging the ministry to complete this school, as almost half of the children from Saint Therese are Rio Claro students. It will be very difficult to accommodate them all at Poole. If Rio Claro is completed, it would ease the situation significantly,” he noted.

Doodhai also said there was a major problem with small primary schools in the Port-of-Spain area and is calling on the ministry to step in and rectify it immediately.

“The principals of about 14 small government primary schools in Port-of-Spain have informed me that since September 2013, they have not been receiving any school supplies from the ministry.

“No toilet paper, no brooms, no copy paper, no cleaning tools. They (principals) have been raising money on their own to purchase these supplies,” he said.

Ministry responds

The Education Ministry communications specialist, Visham Ramsawak, said the decision to have a shift system at the St Therese RC School was taken in a stakeholder meeting which included the school’s board.

Ramsawak said tender to repair the school had been sent out and a contract worth an estimated $2 million would soon be awarded.

He claimed the new Rio Claro Presbyterian School was almost complete and would be ready for opening soon.

In relation to Mt D’or Government Primary, Ramsawak said, the repairs were completed and should be opened in a day or two.

Sewerage problems in Malabar

Principal of Malabar RC Primary School, Lyzel Cummings, is being asked by parents of children at the school to explain why a persistant problem with the sewerage system has not been rectified over the Christmas vacation.

The school closed one week early for the Christmas holiday because of a sewerage problem in one of the school’s restrooms and reopened yesterday, yet the problem persists.

The T&T Guardian received a complaint by a parent, who said that when she learned the sewerage problem remained active, she attempted to remove her child from the school but was barred from doing so by security following instructions from the principal.