SASCHA WILSON
While some flood victims in Penal and Debe are being provided with meals, water and mattresses, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday appealed for cleaning supplies and dog food.
Moonilal, who was at Laltoo Trace, Penal, visiting flood victims, said more than 500 households in Penal and Debe are affected and several properties are still under water.
“We are trying our very best to distribute some hampers, some water, food and believe it or not today we started distributing dog food because we have found several pets dogs in particular that have been left without food because when the residents can’t cook they can’t not only feed themselves, they can’t feed their pets.
“So today we have dog food that we are distributing and I want to appeal to people to donate to us if they can, more pet food. I personally made a pot of dog food and brought it down in the area and we shared for about three houses where we saw some dogs,” he said.
The Opposition MP complained that officials of the Ministry of Social Development had visited the affected areas. He called on state agencies to provide compensation to residents in seven days or face legal action.
“I call upon that Ministry to treat the people of Penal and Debe just as they treat the people in Greenvale. I expect that in seven days they will process these people for emergency flood relief and in seven days I demand that they give them their cheques for relief,” he said.
Moonilal also threatened to initiate court action against the Government if residents are not treated equally and with the same urgency as other flood victims.
The MP said he will be engaging the services of private contractors to clear watercourses in the area.
“We are going to get heavy equipment and go into the rivers, the watercourses and do the work ourselves. There is nothing I can say about this government again so I am not going to complain about them,” he said.
Admitting that the action raises a legal issue, Moonilal added: “We are quite prepared to take that risk. If we are breaking the law then the authorities will have to deal with that but we have to save the people and in saving the people we may have to do the things, not outside the law, but certainly, we’ll have to assume certain authority that we may not have.”