RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Residents of Papourie Road, which links Duncan Village in San Fernando to Lengua Village in Princes Town, and stretches for more than 13 kilometres, say it should be renamed "Potholey Road" because of its deplorable condition.
The road passes through seven communities including Phillipine, Esperance, Diamond, Picton, Monkey Town, Barrackpore, and Inverness where thousands of people live and work.
Six primary and secondary schools—Picton Presbyterian, Monkey Town Government, Barrackpore East and Barrackpore West Secondary, Inverness Presbyterian, and Lengua Presbyterian—are located along the stretch and thousands of residents use the road every day. It took the Guardian an hour to traverse Papourie Road, which is riddled with potholes, landslips, and bumps.
Along with Diamond Village, near the Picton Presbyterian School, the road was so deplorable that only one side was passable. Along the road to Monkey Town, Trinidad Hill area where the famed buffalypsoes once grazed, the road was so bumpy that it took skilled driving and patience to navigate. The buffalypsoes were a new breed of cattle developed by Dr Stephen Bennett in the early 1960s and were part of the Caroni (1975) Limited diversification project in the late 1990s before the company was shut down in 2003.
The deserted areas along Papourie Road are now used as a dumping grounds despite signs from the Penal/Debe Corporation to stop littering. Near the Monkey Town Government Primary School, the bailey bridge facilitated continuous traffic but a look down to the river showed it was overgrown and in need of cleaning.
From Papourie Road to 'Potholey Road'
Krishna Lalman said residents of Papourie Road had given up hope that it will ever be paved.
"The Government seems to have forgotten us down here. This road should be renamed the Potholey Road. This area is so bad that the taxi drivers have increased their fares. It now costs us $11 from Inverness to San Fernando and $12 from Inverness to San Fernando. We cannot blame the drivers. It is a fair price because of what they have to go through with these roads," Lalman said.
Nearby the Barrackpore East Secondary School, there was a huge pileup of garbage.
"This area floods because the drains are in need of cleaning," Paul Thomas said.
Near the Lengua area, the Papourie Road became worse. Outside the home of Jane Pablo, a landslip had undermined the road so badly that black barrels were placed on one side to prevent accidents. A house nearby was badly cracked but the occupants were not at home to speak to the Guardian. Pablo said the landslip first developed early last year and got worse over time.
"We have reported this to the MP, the Regional Corporation, and the Ministry of Works. People have come to see it in the past but nothing was done," she said. Saying her home could easily fall into the precipice, Pablo called on the Government to investigate the damage and bring some relief.
Taxi driver Gayadeen Bachan said he purchased a seven-seater vehicle but could not use it on the bumpy Papourie Road.
"We have to use our old cars because the new van cannot handle this road. This will mash up the seven-seater. We want the ministry to assist us in fixing this road," Bachan said.
Businessman Rodney Rampersad said the road conditions were causing distress to thousands of people.
"We have to spend extra money on vehicle maintenance and travel fares. This could be avoided if they pave the road and maintain it regularly," Rampersad said.
Deodath Persad, who lives near an impassable stretch, said shoddy patchwork much be stopped as it endangers the lives of commuters.
"They do not fix the holes properly. They usually drop crush gravel on the road but no tar to hold it. When the rain falls everything washes away," he said.
The residents also complained that apart from the bad roads, the sidewalks are not being cleaned.
"Up to May last year, we had Cepep gangs working in the community but now everything is becoming overgrown," Persad said.
During the journey, the Guardian saw pensioner Haleeman Ali spraying weedicide from a plastic bottle onto the bushes in front of her home. Ali said she had no spray can so she drilled some holes in the cover of the plastic bottle and used it to spray weedicide on the grass.
"There is a lot of mosquitoes here. I have to kill the grass and nobody comes around anymore to cut the bushes," she explained.
BOX
'Road was last paved under the Basdeo Panday administration'
Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) Dr Allen Sammy said Papourie Road falls under the purview of the Ministry of Works. He said because of the state of the road, the PDRC often lends equipment and manpower to the Highways Division to do patchwork on the road. Sammy said the loose gravel placed in the holes are done as an initial step to oil sands patchwork. However, he said the entire road needs re-sheeting.
"Recently taxi drivers protested. The area known as Trinidad Hill is deplorable as well as the areas heading up to Lengua," Sammy said.
Councillor for Bronte Brian Julian said Papourie Road was last paved under the Basdeo Panday administration.
"This deplorable road condition is affecting everyone. People have to leave home earlier to get to their destination," Julien said.
Minister of Works Rohan Sinanan could not be reached for comment as calls to his cellular phone went unanswered.