Fifteen years after the Piparo mud volcano erupted, Hoseinee Trace and Lower Piparo Road were finally paved, bringing relief to more than 300 residents. But with joy came displeasure as the newly-paved Hoseinee Trace sprang a leak. Several residents said if the leak was not fixed immediately, the road could sink.
However, MP?for Princes Town Nela Khan assured that it was a stopcock problem which the Water and Sewerage Authority would rectify promptly. Once used as a short-cut to get into the community of Piparo, Hoseinee Road became impassable after the Piparo volcano erupted on February 22, 1997. The road, which was fixed by six contractors at a cost of $7 million, was officially opened yesterday by Works Minister Emmanuel George.
Khan said for years residents had to make a 15-minute detour to get to their homes. "Instead of taking two minutes to get home, they had to drive around through the other side for another 15 minutes. Garbage trucks could not enter here and people had to walk with their groceries for two kilometres," she said.
However, while she expressed happiness, Khan said there was more work to be done as there were 111 landslips in the Princes Town region. She added:?"Out of that we fixed 33 landslips but we still have 35 major landslips to address." She noted that eight bridges were also built and two community centres were handed over to residents.
George agreed that more roads and bridges will be fixed in the Princes Town area. He said a wooden bridge along Hoseinee Trace also would be repaired by the Programme Upgrade for Road Efficiency (Pure) unit. Chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation Ramraj Harripersad also vowed that people would not have to wait another two decades to get a project in their community.
"We will not wait for another eruption, whether volcanic or coming from the people themselves before we have another project. We have had co-ordinating meetings to discuss the projects," he added.
