"Since Mary had a little lamb," the residents of Food Crop Road#1 and #2, Chatham have been begging the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for a supply of pipe borne water.
Now fed up of the broken promises and having to spend $700 weekly for 1,200 gallons of water, their anger spilled over with a fiery protest along the Southern Main Road that caused traffic to pile up for hours yesterday.
Close to 60 residents gathered at the junction of Food Crop Road #1, near a WASA substation, where they lit tyres and other debris across the road.
Pig farmer Ricardo Mc Bain said the residents are mostly farmers and they are not getting an adequate supply of water to produce their crops and rare their animals. Mc Bain said when they cannot get a truck borne water supply, they have to fetch water from a standpipe, two miles away from their community. He said they resorted to protest action because it seemed like it was the only way to get anything done in T&T.
"We need water urgently as possible. From ever since, we have been applying to the Ministry and the Self Help Commission but we are not getting any water. All they said is that they will look into it. They took down our names and a petition, but nothing has come out of it.
"At present, I have a hole that I dug with an excavator but by March, all the water will be dried up and I won't be able to mind any animals. I am trying to feed the nation, but I cannot do it without water.
"Since Mary had a little lamb we have been applying for water in this road. Now the lamb has gotten big and slaughtered, we still have not gotten anything," Mc Bain said. Kowsillia Lalachansingh said her children are suffering as she has not washed clothes in over a week.
Water is not the only problem for the residents as the village is affected by landslips and during the wet season, their river overflows. Davanand Seetaram said the swollen river broke its banks recently and swept away his animals. He said the river has been blocked for a while and despite reporting it to the Ministry of Agriculture, nothing was done.
Police squared off with the protesters, but along with fire-fighters and workers from the Point Fortin Borough Corporation, they were able to clear the road and allowed traffic to flow by 10 am. The villagers said that they plan to take their issues directly to the relevant government bodies.
Cedros Councillor Shankar Teelucksingh said the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC) was trying to schedule a truck-borne water supply for the residents, three days per week.
Teelucksingh said the corporation was informed that a hydrant in the community that was needed to supply the villagers with water was shut off so they would have to full water tenders in San Fernando. However, he said after speaking with WASA yesterday, the hydrant will be reopened.