Collapsed bridge brings hardship to Felicity farmers

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The Felicity Foodcrop Farmers’ Association is calling on the relevant authorities to repair a collapsing bridge along the Felicity/Waterloo Connector Road in Chaguanas.

Association president Debideen Manick yesterday said erosion around the southern end of the bridge, which first began experiencing structural issues in June, had worsened in the last few months because of excessive rainfall.

He said several years ago, a similar problem was experienced on the northern edge of the bridge and the Ministry of Works had stepped in to rectify the problem.

However, Manick said the erosion is now taking place so fast that farmers are getting worried. He said the bridge connects scores of farmers from Waterloo, Felicity and Couva and is critical to the production and transportation of crops.

Other farmers said they have been pleading to the authorities for but their cries are falling on deaf ears.

Contacted yesterday, Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed said he has been receiving calls from concerned farmers about the erosion. Mohammed said he plans to visit the area with a technical team to see if the borough can render any assistance. However, he claimed the road is the responsibility of the Ministry of Works.

He said, “I would be sending a correspondence to the ministry requesting assistance to get this repaired. The area is important to farmers and to the development of agriculture.”

The southern end of the bridge started eroding in June and this worsened around mid-August.

Contacted on the complaint yesterday, however, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sininan said the road was not a main road but an agricultural connector road which fell under the remit of the borough corporation and not his ministry. However, he said they had also received a report on the incident and will send a team out for an assessment today.