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Posted on June 26, 2017
By Radhica Sookraj, Guardian
The Cipero River has not been dredged for seven years but after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello personally supervised its cleaning yesterday.
Regrello, who served as deputy mayor for three years, said he did not know the river needed dredging and it was only when Bret passed and homes were flooded he realised huge trees had grown up in the middle of the river at Green Acres. He said then UNC councillor for the area Bishop Jankie Raghunanan never raised the matter.
“It is amazing that when the river was last dredged seven years ago, the contractor piled the silt from the river at the centre of the roadway,” Regrello said.
“The silt was left on the road, trees and grass were allowed to grow and it became impossible to pass. Residents from Akadian Avenue no longer had access to connect to Hill View Drive.”
Asked why this was allowed to happen under his watch, Regrello said: “This wasn’t cleaned before because nobody made mention of it to us. It was the responsibility of the councillor to raise this matter at one level.”
Councillor for Les Efforts Anderson Williams said the dredging will not be a one-off event.
“We are clearing the slush and drainage so that in the event of further rainfall we won’t have problems. This is not a one-off fix. There will be continuous maintenance,” he said
Williams said once the road is cleared the city engineer will assess its condition and do repairs.
Residents who suffered loss of property because of the flooding said they were grateful the project was finally being done.
“It should have been cleared a long time ago but we are happy for this,” Russel Beepath said.
Another resident said she wanted the river to be cleaned regularly, since the clogged watercourse is responsible for most of the flooding in the community.
Source: Guardian