— Prime Minister, Ministerial team visited location to assess situation
— shelter to establish for affected residents to sleep
— relief hampers to be delivered on Thursday
Emergency works are expected to commence tonight to bring relief to residents affected by the damaged Grove Market Street sluice door.
The sluice door reportedly caved in Wednesday afternoon, due to the current high tide which occurred at approximately 16:00 hours.
This evening, Prime Minister, Brig. (ret’d), Hon. Mark Phillips, along with Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Hon. Deodat Indar, and Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Hon. Anand Persaud, visited the area and assured residents of prompt intervention.
Director-General (DG) of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel, Kester Craig, and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Mr. Fredrick Flatts, were also present during the walk-through exercise.
According to Minister Mustapha, a contractor was summoned to the location to assess the situation and to begin work immediately. He explained that stop logs will be installed temporarily at the sluice until the original door is repaired.
“The sluice door needs maintenance; therefore, I am putting a system in place which will ensure that the NDIA has a programme of regular repairs and maintenance to these structures.”
Meanwhile, equipment is being mobilized for the repair of the sluice door. Prime Minister Phillips told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that he has already instructed the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to identify a shelter where the affected residents can be safely housed for the night.
Prime Minister also disclosed that the CDC will, on Thursday, distribute sanitisation and other relief supplies to affected households in the community.
“We are really saddened by what has happened here tonight, and we will make all efforts correct the breach at the koker and to bring relief,” PM Phillips assured.
Meanwhile, Craig has identified the Diamond Secondary School as the temporary shelter venue. He told reporters that the building has to be assessed and “once it is suitable for shelter, we will ask residents who are impacted to go to that facility”.
(DPI)
