Claxton Bay residents are appealing to Works Minister Suruj Rambachan to speed up repairs to a main bridge leading to their community. Their fears grew once again on Thursday, after more than 200 residents were cut off after heavy rains caused the Bulbul River to overflow its banks and flood Diamond Village. The T&T Guardian visited the scene and spoke to a resident Lyncia Lee, who said while repairs to the bridge started months ago, no progress can be seen.
“All they did so far was dig the river and build some wall in the middle. The length of time the work started they were supposed to be finished by now,” Lee said. Lee, who has a nine-year-old daughter at the Mt Pleasant Government Primary school nearby, said schoolchildren suffer the most whenever the river overflows. “The children have to walk through the floodwater, because cars cannot go there,” she said.
“My daughter’s school bag fell into the floodwater. All her books got wet.” She also expressed concern about the walkway across the river, which she says has started to show signs of collapsing. “The walkway starting to lean, it looks like it might fall straight into the river. When it gets wet the surface starts to skate. It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt.”
Rambachan responds
Contacted about the construction of the bridge, Rambachan sided with the residents, saying the contractor had been given five weeks to complete it. “The residents have a right to complain—this bridge was supposed to be completed quite some time ago,” Rambachan said by phone. “The contractor was called in on Tuesday. They have been given five weeks to complete the job.”
Rambachan said if the contractor fails to deliver he will be fired and the work valued for a different contractor to complete the job. “I want to make it clear, the low performance by some contractors is not being romanticised in any way,” he said. He added that while the shoddy work of contractors often cause ministers to come under fire, he will not tolerate poor performance.
“The minister often comes under fire, but this minister will ensure that those charged with the responsibility of getting the works done do so in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.”
