The Joint Consultative Council (JCC), which had intervened in Kublalsingh's first hunger strike in an attempt to end it, is distancing itself from the second.JCC president Afra Raymond made it clear on Wednesday that the council's intervention this time around had nothing to do with Kublalsingh's second hunger strike.Wednesday made it 100 days since Kublalsingh embarked on a second hunger strike he started on September 17.He said his body has embarrassed him since he did not think he would live this long.He started the second strike saying he would not eat until Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar puts the segement of the highway on hold and meets with him.
Raymond was asked to respond on Kublalsingh's 100th day without food and water.He said the JCC wrote National Infrastructural Development Company (Nidco) head Dr Carson Charles about the Debe to Mon Desir highway on October."But it was not on the basis of the second hunger strike," he said."It was to find out what steps Nidco had taken with the recommendations of the Armstrong Report."
Raymond noted, too, that Kublalsingh in an Express interview this week said he "did cheat in a way" by having intravenous fluids administered to him several times after he collapsed one month after the second hunger strike.Raymond said the JCC did ask the PM to meet Kublalsingh after the first fast, but not after this one. "Our first letter to the PM on November 26, 2012, done in conjunction with the T&T Transparency Institute, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and Working Women, was intended to both end Dr Kublalsingh's hunger strike and propose an independent review of the disputed aspects of the Debe to Mon Desir link of the San Fernando to Point Fortin Highway.""Our current ongoing intervention is intended to determine what has been Nidco's response to the recommendations of the Armstrong Report, so we wrote to them on October 10."
Raymond said Nidco responded and the JCC is carefully considering that before making further statements." Nidco, responding to the JCC's concerns in newspaper advertisements defended its decision to continue the Debe to Mon Desir route. Nidco said Dr Bheshem Ramlal, UWI GIS specialist and lecturer said it was the optimum route.
Guinness has spoken
Communications Minister Vasant Bharath, asked to comment to Kublalsingh's 100-day hunger strike, said: "I think the Guinness World Records have already pronounced on that."He was referring to The Guinness Book of Records also known as The Guinness Book of World Records, a reference book published annually, listing world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The Guinness World Book of Records states that the longest anyone ever went without food and water was 18 days.Bharath said the Government continues to ask Kublalsingh to let good sense prevail."The Government has done everything in its power to ensure the recommendations in the Armstrong Report are adhered to."
The Armstrong committee was commissioned by Persad-Bissessar after Kublalsingh embarked on his first hunger strike.The intention was to look at the Debe to Mon Desir route and make recommendations where necessary.Bharath said the HRM took out three court injunctions against the State and failed all."We have even agreed to help speed up the Privy Council matter once they make an application."They have been tardy in making the application."We have agreed to do anything in our power to prevent Kublalsingh causing any further physical or mental harm to himself, to no avail."The minister said the Government can now only hope and pray there is no sad ending to the Kublalsingh saga.Bharath visited Kublalsingh at his home when he had entered into the 50th day of his hunger strike in a reconciliation bid.
It was not successful.