Sascha Wilson
Demolition of the long-awaited near-century old San Fernando Magistrates’ Court building commenced on Saturday through the Rural Development and Local Government #We Clean TT campaign.
As the campaign comes to an end, Minister Faris Al-Rawi warned that they will be enforcing the law against people who through their indiscrimination is contributing to the flooding woes.
Speaking to reporters while the demolition was underway, Al-Rawi said they were pulling down derelict buildings, moving derelict vehicles, cleaning watercourses and cutting overgrown areas, within the districts under the San Fernando City Corporation.
He said San Fernando was the last of the 14 corporations targeted during their campaign which was launched in April.
“The reason is we started in the flood prone areas so we did Central, we did South. It’s a reason why we have had a successful management of water flow. In our survey side of the campaign we have identified the water courses that has been intruded upon, man-made intrusions that have caused hundreds of homes to flood.”
Warning that the next stage is to enforce the law, he said, “I want to give very strong warning to people who have offended the law in watercourses and drainage we will be coming to apply the law because we know how to do it.”
Al-Rawi said they will make the data collected during the campaign public as it ties in into Local Government reform.
“I can tell you we have cleared over 20 times the height of the twin towers already throughout Trinidad and Tobago. We have done a massive amount of survey exercise. Now we know all the areas that was not vested in the corporations so we going to vest them.”
Meanwhile, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello said while the old court building has a lot of sentimental value, progress is inevitable and the building had outlived its usefulness.”