Sascha Wilson
Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Within the space of eight years, three homes have been destroyed due to land movement, leaving three brothers and their families with nowhere to call their own.
Their homes at Sahadath Road, Princes Town, have all crumbled, allegedly as a result of a leaking water line.
For Taradath Bridgemohan, 47, his wife, Meera, 43, and their three children, ages 21, 16 and nine, it’s been a heartbreaking cycle of loss and uncertainty.
The family lived in all three houses—the last one collapsed around 6.30 am yesterday.
Their three-storey home, which took 16 years to complete, was the first to go in 2017.
They relocated next door to his brother’s home, but not long after, they were forced to leave when that house began shifting.
Bridgemohan and his family then moved into his parents’ home across the street in 2022. His brother and his wife lived downstairs. But late last November, the family again had to pack up and leave after the house—which had stood for 40 years—began crumbling.
A kind neighbour has allowed them to stay in his home, but they had to leave their pets—two dogs and seven birds—behind. Most of their furniture and belongings were left in the garage at his parents’ home and at the nearby mandir, which is also in jeopardy of collapsing.
As he tried to contain his emotions during an interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Bridgemohan lamented, “I fed up. I fed up.”
He said they made repeated complaints to WASA and knocked on several doors seeking assistance, but to no avail.
“When we went to the alleged organisation, WASA, we were always told that they are not seeing any overhead leaks. However, sometime in January, February, we saw a leak in front. WASA came and had it repaired. Sometime, a month again we saw the leak again, WASA had it repaired.”
“We are fed up. It is not one house. Is not two house, is three houses. Three families are being displaced because of this. My elder brother, his wife, and my younger brother and his wife.”
For Bridgemohan’s family, it has been a recurring nightmare, and he now feels a sense of hopelessness.
“We don’t know who to ask for help for the houses. WASA is saying they need to see some evidence of their water on their line is leaking. Now that we have solid evidence, who we could go to ask for help?”
While he has tried to be strong for his family, he said the situation is heartbreaking and they need compensation to be able to rebuild their lives.
The landslip that destroyed two of the houses, including Bridgemohan’s, has since been repaired, and there is no evidence that the homes once stood there. However, another landslip has developed across the road.
“We don’t know who to go to because if you go to a legal advisor, we don’t have the money to pay.”
Resident Deosaran Singh, who lives behind the mandir, complained that he was living in fear that his house would also be destroyed.
Noting that just last Thursday his tank collapsed, he said, “I have a lil son. He gone to school today. He can’t sleep comfortable in the night because the slightest noise you hear you getting up to see what causing the problem,” lamented Singh.
Meanwhile, Moruga/Tableland MP and Minister of Culture and Community Development, Michelle Benjamin, said representatives from her office visited the family yesterday. She said she had previously visited the site and reported a suspected water leak as a likely cause of the land instability.
She also noted that with the closure of Mandingo Road, Sahadath Road has become one of the main access routes in this part of the constituency, making urgent intervention not just a matter of compassion but of public safety and connectivity.
“I will continue to press the relevant ministries for immediate support and remain committed to doing all I can to assist the family and protect the wider community,” she said.
WASA responds
In response WASA denied the allegation, stating that the pipeline was decommissioned to prevent ongoing damage by land movement.
In a statement, the authority noted that the Sahadath Road area has been prone to landslips for several years, resulting in not only damage to properties in the vicinity of the slippage but also the
pipeline infrastructure.
As such, WASA said it has been monitoring the area closely and on
each occurrence of damage to the pipeline due to land movement, it has responded promptly to isolate the supply and effect the necessary repairs.
It said for this year there were three such occasions: the first on January 8, which was isolated and repaired on the same day. The second was June 4, which was also isolated and repaired on the same day. On June 14, WASA stated that it responded to another leak reported on
that day, at which time the pipeline was decommissioned before the landslip, to prevent further breaks due to ongoing land movement.
WASA, however, stated that it continues to monitor this situation closely while liaising with customers and other stakeholders, regarding ongoing developments.