National Quarries a thorn in Arimians’ side

“Living in close proximity to a quarry is never easy”, says Arima valley resident Indra Sinanan. But, she added, in recent times her living situation had become worse. “It isn’t as though there is more dust or more noise, there is just a carelessness in the attitude of the quarry operators,” Sinanan said. She has lived opposite Scott’s Quarry, operated by National Quarries Company Ltd (NQCL), for the past 45 years.

“Last year we were hopeful because of all the news coverage about the quarrying near Asa Wright, but they stopped bothering the nature centre and continued neglecting the community.” Sinanan said last year people from the quarry would visit neighbouring homes to check whether there were any problems from the blasts or the dust. “That has stopped. I am tired of calling and complaining,” she said.

“They do not do a good job of controlling the dust in the air. My six-year-old granddaughter came to visit me and she hasn’t stopped wheezing since she got here.” Peering through the trees from Sinanan’s bedroom window, heavy equipment digging rock from the side of the mountain is visible through a haze of light-coloured dust.

That dust eventually settles on houses, the riverbed and on the roads, adding to dust that regularly falls from trucks transporting material from the quarry. “Look at that road, they (quarry workers) come and they wet it because they are supposed to make sure the roads are cleaned, but what it ends up doing is causing a set of mud,” said Devin Rooplal.

“There are big holes in the road by Scott’s Quarry. It makes no sense to wash your car or walk there. We complain to the company, but they rarely come and fix the bad roads around here. “You would think that because they have an office here, they would want to fix the roads too, but that is not the case.” Rooplal pointed to two large potholes filled with muddy water on the roadway.

“No. They don’t fix it. Instead, those trucks drive in the middle of the road to avoid the holes and they speed, so it is very dangerous for us to drive here as well.” One woman, who refused to be identified, said although living near the quarry bothered her, dealing with the negative effects had become a part of her routine. “My husband grew up in this area and we moved here about 13 years ago,” she said.

“Other people can open their windows and breathe in fresh air and listen to the sound of nature. That is what country life should be about. “We haven’t opened these windows in years and the only sound we hear is the grating noises of equipment digging through the mountains and the blasts from the explosives used to loosen the rocks. When it rains, you can add flooding to the mix. And that is what we deal with.

“There are four quarries in the area but National Quarries gives the most trouble. They do not care about the community that they disturb.” The surrounding community includes not only human residents but also a delicate and diverse ecosystem providing a home for flora, fauna, hundreds of species of birds, amphibians and other wildlife that use the dense forestry as a haven.

This haven is daily being disrupted by explosive blasts and a disappearing and dirty river.

Sidebar
National Quarries responds:
NQCL chairman Mitra Ramkhelewan defended his company’s community relations in a telephone interview. “As far as I know we have been working with the community. During Christmas we washed the entire road and we paved potholes.

“We spray and wet the road continuously so that the dust rising does not become a problem for the residents and we worked with the MP for the area, Rodger Samuel, to fix the box drains. We have always maintained our corporate social responsibility (CSR). We try to do as best as we can,” Ramkhelewan said. He said Scott’s Quarry had been in use since 1940 and there were no villages around when the quarry started.

“The community encroached on the quarry. “What happens is the quarry starts, then a lady puts up a parlour to sell drinks or food to the workers. After that she adds on a room then a next room. Then somebody comes and builds a house and then a village appears.

“We help with the village when we can. We put up safety signs and we employ people there.” Ramkhelewan said there were only two options—either the villagers accept the quarry or the quarry shuts down. “And if the quarry shuts down the price of aggregate will be four or five times more.”

He said the quarries were not the true danger to the Arima valley and claimed farmers on the hillside are responsible for landslides and use products that run off into the river and kill fishes.

National Quarries responds

NQCL chairman Mitra Ramkhelewan defended his company’s community relations in a telephone interview. “As far as I know we have been working with the community. During Christmas we washed the entire road and we paved potholes.

“We spray and wet the road continuously so that the dust rising does not become a problem for the residents and we worked with the MP for the area, Rodger Samuel, to fix the box drains. We have always maintained our corporate social responsibility (CSR). We try to do as best as we can,” Ramkhelewan said. He said Scott’s Quarry had been in use since 1940 and there were no villages around when the quarry started.

“The community encroached on the quarry. “What happens is the quarry starts, then a lady puts up a parlour to sell drinks or food to the workers. After that she adds on a room then a next room. Then somebody comes and builds a house and then a village appears. “We help with the village when we can. We put up safety signs and we employ people there.”

Ramkhelewan said there were only two options—either the villagers accept the quarry or the quarry shuts down. “And if the quarry shuts down the price of aggregate will be four or five times more.” He said the quarries were not the true danger to the Arima valley and claimed farmers on the hillside are responsible for landslides and use products that run off into the river and kill fishes.