Guardian 12.06.

2013
Berridge residents hold off protests as...
OAS starts road rehabilitation
Radhica Sookraj
Published:
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Berridge residents hold off protests as...

Residents of Berridge Trace block the road on Monday to protest the bad road conditions caused by
the highway works. PHOTO: TONY HOWELL

Residents of Berridge Trace, South Oropouche, held off on protests yesterday after OAS Construtora
Ltd, the main contractor in the multi-billion-dollar San Fernando to Point Fortin highway project,
began fixing their roads. Spokesperson Krishendath Harripersad said around 7 am, OAS workers
began grading the roads. We are waiting to see what they will do but we did not protest this
morning, Harripersad said.

On Monday, residents tried in to stop Phase Two of the $7.5 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway
extension but their attempts were thwarted by the police. They complained of deplorable road
conditions and continued failure by the Government to acquire their lands at reasonable prices. The
highway, from Siparia to Fyzabad, runs through the fields of Mon Desir and has been steeped in
controversy since construction started in September 2011.

Resident Stephen Samuel said children were falling ill from the dust, houses were collapsing because
of vibrations from the construction site and several families in the direct path of the highway were yet
to receive compensation. He said about 200 people were directly affected by the highway
construction. I am an asthma patient and almost every day I suffer an asthma attack. The road is
slippery because it is thick with mud and when we complain they wash the road but it goes down into
our driveways.
My mother, who suffers with back problems, slipped and fell, Samlal said. He said thousands of
drivers pass through Berridge Trace as it is a direct route linking Aripero to Fyzabad. Another resident,
Lisa Maharaj, said the poor homeowners in the area were yet to receive compensation.
They settled negotiations with the bigshots who have concrete houses but the poor people who live in
the path of the highway didnt get a single cent, Maharaj added. She said a meeting was held with
the National Infrastructure Development Company and promises were made to settle outstanding
issues. Marilyn Rogers also complained the roads were impassable because of the sludge.

We cannot live under these conditions. They found people living here when they came. They full of
false promises and we really fed up, Rogers said. Resident Shiraza Khan said her wooden house
collapsed on May 27 because of vibrations caused by a demolition crew which broke down three
houses in Mon Desir. Since the house fell we got $20,000 from the National Self Help Commission but
not a cent from OAS. We built our house 12 years ago and we complained to OAS about the problem.
They are not helping and right now I am sleeping on the floor of my sons drawing room, Khan said.
She said some of their friends had put up a plywood house for them. All of Khans furniture, including
her sofa, television and fridge, was outside her house.

OAS responds
A senior official of OAS, who requested anonymity, said vibration monitoring was done during the
demolition process and there was no danger to residents homes. The source said OAS held
discussions with Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma to assist the family after their home collapsed. We
have photos of the house before it collapsed, and heavy rainfall was the cause not the vibrations, the
official claimed. On the state of the roads, OAS said drainage and culverts would be fixed before road-
paving is done.
The source also said the road was soaked every hour to keep down the dust and it is washed several
times a day with truck-borne water. Two loads of gravel were dropped on the site yesterday to fix the
potholes.