Residents of Berridge Trace, South Oropouche, held off on protests yesterday after OAS Construtora Ltd, the main contractor in the multi-billion-dollar San Fernando to Point Fortin highway project, began fixing their roads.Spokesperson Krishendath Harripersad said around 7 am, OAS workers began grading the roads."We are waiting to see what they will do but we did not protest this morning," Harripersad said.
On Monday, residents tried in to stop Phase Two of the $7.5 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension but their attempts were thwarted by the police.They complained of deplorable road conditions and continued failure by the Government to acquire their lands at reasonable prices.The highway, from Siparia to Fyzabad, runs through the fields of Mon Desir and has been steeped in controversy since construction started in September 2011.
Resident Stephen Samuel said children were falling ill from the dust, houses were collapsing because of vibrations from the construction site and several families in the direct path of the highway were yet to receive compensation. He said about 200 people were directly affected by the highway construction."I am an asthma patient and almost every day I suffer an asthma attack. The road is slippery because it is thick with mud and when we complain they wash the road but it goes down into our driveways.
"My mother, who suffers with back problems, slipped and fell," Samlal said.He said thousands of drivers pass through Berridge Trace as it is a direct route linking Aripero to Fyzabad.Another resident, Lisa Maharaj, said the poor homeowners in the area were yet to receive compensation.
"They settled negotiations with the bigshots who have concrete houses but the poor people who live in the path of the highway didn't get a single cent," Maharaj added. She said a meeting was held with the National Infrastructure Development Company and promises were made to settle outstanding issues.Marilyn Rogers also complained the roads were impassable because of the sludge.
"We cannot live under these conditions. They found people living here when they came. They full of false promises and we really fed up," Rogers said.Resident Shiraza Khan said her wooden house collapsed on May 27 because of vibrations caused by a demolition crew which broke down three houses in Mon Desir."Since the house fell we got $20,000 from the National Self Help Commission but not a cent from OAS. We built our house 12 years ago and we complained to OAS about the problem.
"They are not helping and right now I am sleeping on the floor of my son's drawing room," Khan said.She said some of their friends had put up a plywood house for them. All of Khan's furniture, including her sofa, television and fridge, was outside her house.
OAS responds
A senior official of OAS, who requested anonymity, said vibration monitoring was done during the demolition process and there was no danger to residents' homes.The source said OAS held discussions with Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma to assist the family after their home collapsed."We have photos of the house before it collapsed, and heavy rainfall was the cause not the vibrations," the official claimed.On the state of the roads, OAS said drainage and culverts would be fixed before road-paving is done.
The source also said the road was soaked every hour to keep down the dust and it is washed several times a day with truck-borne water.Two loads of gravel were dropped on the site yesterday to fix the potholes.