Activists opposed to the Essar steel mill say Essar Caribbean Steel has pulled out from its 2.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant project at Point Lisas, after company officials packed up and left. And now that their victory is won, activists say they will be now be lobbying the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to crack down on pollution in the mangrove swamp, located north of the Claxton Bay jetty. University of the West Indies lecturer, Wayne Kublalsingh, said they did not have official word from the Government that Essar had abandoned the steel mill project. He explained, however, that six months ago, company officials said they planned to pull out from the project for two years because of the downturn in the economy.
Since then, Kublalsingh said, senior managers from India, middle managers and local staff who occupied an office at Atlantic Plaza have all closed up and left. Around midday yesterday, Kublalsingh and a group of villagers took a CNC3/Guardian crew to the mangrove to investigate the pollution at the swamp. A river polluted with a whitish liquid was seen running through the swamp. A high scent of chemical pervaded the area. At the Gulf of Paria, beds of dead "mook," also known as mussels, were also evident. Resident Lalchan Jaggan said the mussels open to take in nutrients during high tides. However, he said with the onslaught of pollution, the mussels and oysters die.
"We have seen the dead fishes...All of the oysters are dying yet people are still coming to harvest them," Jaggan said. Tenko Manick and his seven-year-old son Rajiv were seen digging through the mud for mussels. Manick said he knew the river was polluted, but made sure to wash out the mussels with hot water to kill the bacteria. Kublalsingh said the EMA must take immediate steps to stop the pollution. "The mangrove is being negatively affected by salts ammonia coming from the industrial estate," he said. "We have to stop this pollution because the mangrove is a source of food. We have to renew this area." The residents said they were happy that Essar Steel was no longer a threat, adding that the Government should now stop construction of the port extension as it would destroy the livelihood of the fishermen.