Education Minister Anthony Garcia remains adamant that the decisions taken in the past week to restructure the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate) programme were done in the best interest of the public and especially those students seeking to access tertiary education.

Addressing reporters during a media briefing at the Ministry of Education, St Clair, yesterday, Garcia said feedback from local and international quarters reflected “confidence and agreement with respect to the decisions taken by Government.”

Claiming that the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) had yet to endorse the findings and recommendations put forward by the Gate Task Force, Garcia said following a meeting yesterday, they were generally satisfied with the decisions.

“This really tells us that what we have done is really the right step we have taken in terms of the Gate and opportunities we have made available to students in their ability to access tertiary education.

“There are some instances and in some cases where the provisions of the Gate must be adjusted because of the economic realities we now face and that principally was the reason for the decisions taken by Cabinet last week,” he added.

Seeking to allay public fear that the 25 per cent contribution by students whose joint household income exceeded $10,000 a month would disenfranchise large numbers of students from next year, Garcia provided a breakdown of the expected cost as it related to the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering.

He said a three-year programme at Humanities and Education would cost Government approximately $36,000 which, when broken down, was $12,000 a year. That, he said, worked out to be $3,000 a year or $250 a month for students who had to pay 25 per cent.

At Social Sciences it would cost $34,512, which translated into $11,504 a year for Government and $2,876 a year or $240 a month for the student, while at Engineering it would cost $39,912 or $13,304 a year for Government), with $3,326 a year or $278 a month for the student.

“In our view, that is not an inordinate sum that students will be asked to contribute to their tertiary education,” Garcia said.

He stressed that claims Government  was seeking to disenfranchise students were “hollow and untrue.” He still noted that the decisions were not cast in stone and “depending on our economic circumstances, things can change.”

Asked if Government would reconsider the decision to stop funding people 50 years and over, Garcia said it was not a discriminatory move.

On the move to pull funding for medical students at the St. George's University (SGU), Grenada, and how that would affect University of the West Indies faculties at St Augustine, Mona and Cave Hill, Garcia said he was due to meet with the principal of the St Augustine Campus yesterday to discuss that among other issues.

He said it was costing Government three times as much to send one medical student to SGU.

Executive director of Accreditation Council of T&T (ACTT), Michael Bradshaw, also said there were 12 fully accredited and 61 legally registered institutions in T&T.

List of Accredited institutions as at July 2016
• University of the Southern Caribbean (USC).
• College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago  (COSTAATT).
• University of the West Indies (UWI).
• University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).
• Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (ALJGSB).
• Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies (CCLCS).
• St Andrew’s Theological College (SATC).
• Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI).
• Caribbean Nazarene College (CNC).
• Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI).
• MIC Institute of Technology (MICIT).
• West Indies School of Theology (WIST).

 As at July 2016, there were 12 accredited institutions; 53 registered institutions; nine institutions pending final approval (signing of documents); 230 locally developed programmes approved; 22 individual transnational programmes recognised; 12 foreign awarding bodies/institutions offering individual transnational programmes and 14 local institutions delivering individual transnational programmes.

Up to July 29, 2016, there were 19 foreign awarding bodies and institutions recognised by the ACTT; 496 transnational programmes offered by foreign awarding bodies and institutions recognised by the ACTT and 32 local institutions delivering programmes in collaboration with foreign awarding bodies and institutions. 

While two fraud accused employees of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC) reported to the Ministry of Local Government’s head office yesterday, local government officials could not say whether or not they were dismissed.

County superintendent, Maniram Mohess, and engineering and survey officer, Barry Samaroo, reported to the office of the permanent secretary. They were ordered to the Ministry’s Port-of-Spain office after they reported to work following Monday’s appearance at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court.

One of the men were said to be involved in a meeting to reconcile construction material worth million of dollars. That meeting had to be stopped by a municipal police officer.

Checker, Ian Gokool, who is also accused in the matter, showed up for work as well but was sent on leave by acting CEO Charmaine Dookie. One senior officer at the CTTRC would only say that both employees “were gone.” 

When contacted yesterday, Dookie did not deny or confirm whether the men were suspended or fired, saying that she was a public officer and not allowed to speak to the media. She referred the question to CTTRC chairman Henry Awong, who she said was apprised of workers’ status.

However, Awong said while he knew Mohess and Samaroo reported to the permanent secretary, it was all he knew. He said he was unaware whether they were suspended but may know today. 

Mohess, Samaroo, Gokool, Corporation CEO Carol Dyal and businessman Mahase Sookhai appeared before magistrate Christine Charles on Monday, charged with conspiring to defraud the CTTRC of $149,500. 

The charges relate to a contract awarded for the installation of outdoor exercise equipment at the San Pablo Recreation Ground and Todd’s Road Activity Centre.

Meanwhile, Independent Liberal Party (ILP) alderman, Sunil Ramjitsingh, said Opposition representatives at the CTTRC were happy that Local Government Minister Franklin Khan ordered forensic audits into all regional corporations.

Ramjitsingh said they believed a detailed audit of the CTTRC was required urgently. Since media reports of the police arresting CTTRC employees and contractors linked to the corporation last week, he said they have received numerous phone calls from the burgesses, public officers and local government representatives from various political parties.

He said the callers shared some of their experiences and observations in their own regional corporations with respect to procurement of materials and services, from construction materials to simple services, such as catering. They also dealt with the issuing of contracts and accountability for materials.

“We believe these are critical areas that must be included in the audits. Further, we believe the audit should not just be an audit of the paper trails but that the quality of work done on contracts should also be examined to determine if the quality is satisfactory and if projects have been done according to the scope of works,” Ramjitsingh said.

Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Anthony Pierre, has given an assurance that if an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) shows that construction of a hotel at the old tracking station in Chaguaramas would disrupt the wildlife, flora and fauna of the area, the proposed project will be discontinued.

Pierre made the comment yesterday as he tried to allay fears of naturalists, environmentalists and users of the area, many of whom took to Facebook in the last three days to condemn the CDA’s plan to build a hotel at the tracking station site.

The criticisms came after the CDA on Monday placed a media ad for expression of interest (EOI) for investors/developers into the planning, design, construction and commissioning of a full service hotel at the old tracking station at Macqueripe, Chaguaramas. 

The EOI invited local and internationally qualified and experienced developers/investors to submit an expression for the project by October 6.

“If the EIA shows any significant negative impact on the environment we would not proceed. I could tell you that,” Pierre said when contacted yesterday.

“We would not proceed if the EMA does not give us a Certificate of Environmental Clearance. We would have a change of heart. 
“But at this point in time it is purely exploratory. There are other locations that we can look at. I know there are a lot of feelings around the tracking station. We are fully cognisant of how many people use it and the history behind it. We would not do anything to disrupt the wildlife and ecology of the area,” he added.  

He said the hotel the CDA was looking to construct was not a “Hyatt hotel-type arrangement, but an eco log hotel that would cater for tourists and visitors whose hobby was animal, birds and butterfly watching.”

The tracking station has also been a place for star gazing.

The road leading to the tracking station, which is a favourite for joggers, cyclists and walking enthusiasts, passes through the spectacular Bamboo Cathedral and runs to the top of the hill where, instead of the expected ridge line, one encounters a flat grassy field surrounded by old, decaying buildings.

On Monday, many took to Facebook to describe the CDA’s move as “disruptive to the environment, horrific and worst idea ever.”

Yesterday, Pierre said the tracking station was only recommended as a possible site.

“We will be very careful in making a final determination on the matter. People would be consulted,” he added. He said the EMA would play a major role in whether a hotel should or should not be constructed there.

“Most likely, the EMA would request an EIA. There are so many safeguards in place. It’s not our intention to flaunt the law on any public authority.

I think there are adequate security measures in place to ensure that we do not start a project that is not in the best interest of the population,” Pierre said, adding the last thing CDA would do was go against the wishes of the population.

He said another site the CDA had in mind was where the Macqueripe hotel was once located, which was a stone’s throw from the tracking station.

“If it is more feasible to go up the valley than come through the tracking station and do the hotel at that side, then we will do that. It’s not that we are thirsty to do this project at all costs.”

Asked if there was a third or fourth location the CDA was eyeing, Pierre said no.

“The CDA has 14,000 acres of land. We will see.”

Pierre also gave a commitment to preserve the tracking station, since it was a historical site.

“It is not the intention to demolish any of the facilities around the tracking station but to incorporate it into the hotel’s design.”

Voices against plan
Historian and author Angelo Bissessarsingh yesterday objected to the proposal. 

“The mere fact that they want to put a hotel on that site I think is apprehensible. It’s one of our great beauty spots on the north western peninsula.The public should not support this in any way imaginable. I am in total disagreement with it,” he said.

While Bissessarsingh said there was a great need to diversify the economy from hydro carbons, he said whatever the Government did must be sustainable and benefit all. Environmentalist and nature lover Stephen Broadbridge described the decision as dreadful.

“The only hotel that I would support there would be a low key eco hotel,” he said.

Stating that Tucker Valley was a sensitive area for endangered species which should be protected, Broadbridge added: “Do they have to encroach on the wildlife all the time? Can’t they just leave Tucker Valley alone for wildlife and eco-type experiences? 

“I am really getting fed up of Trinidadians for their lack of respect for wildlife. Go and stick the hotels in the industrial and party areas.”

For the past 15 years, Broadbridge said the CDA had been ignoring Tucker Valley’s wildlife.

“To have a hotel that creates noise and bright lights would disturb the animals. I am totally against it. They don’t have to put a hotel there,” he said.

Broadbridge said while the CDA had to generate revenue they should not destroy the flora and fauna of Chaguaramas which is a national park and should remain with its green spaces.

“So you want to build a hotel for all the visitors that aren’t coming. That’s interesting,” he said.

Former president of the Caribbean Institute of Astronomy, Graham Rostant, meanwhile, said the tracking station meant a lot to its members and public. He said on dark nights the institute would host stargazing events at the site for the public and its members, for which they pay the CD.

“It would be sad to lose the site because we have been using it for 13 years.

“I feel this development is a mistake for Chaguaramas. I do question the feasibility of a hotel up there. There is no water or electricity to the top of the hill. I can’t see how a hotel would be a viable business there,” Rostant said.

Preliminary examinations of the bodies of Ardia Yearwood-Marchan and her husband, Peter Marchan, have ruled out that the woman was shot before they were burned. 

While police believe the burnt remains found in Yearwood-Marchan’s Isuzu D-Max pickup at Petrotrin’s Forest Reserve, Fyzabad, on August 4 are the couple’s, DNA results still have to confirm their identities.

Blood samples of the couple’s siblings are yet to reach the Forensic Science Centre (FSC), St James, and forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov said it would take some time before the results of the DNA tests are returned. For a faster return of results, the families can send the samples to specialised laboratories in Miami, United States, or London, England. 

Investigators are hoping that an autopsy will clarify their theory that Yearwood-Marchan was killed before she was put in her pickup before it was set on fire. So far, they believe it was a case of murder/suicide as neighbours reported the couple had an argument at Yearwood-Marchan’s home at Guapo Road, Fyzabad. Blood was also found inside the house.

Alexandrov said the bodies were badly burnt and he was hoping to retrieve DNA samples from the bone marrow. 

According to reports, Yearwood-Marchan, 38, a dance teacher at the La Romain High School and Marchan, a civilian mechanic at the Southern Division Fire Headquarters, Mon Repos, San Fernando, were found dead after firefighters extinguished the burning vehicle. Reports stated that an anonymous caller reported a fire off Sudamah Trace and when Fyzabad police responded, they found the burning pickup along the No 42 Road.

A relative of Marchan said the couple, married for 14 years, separated last November and Yearwood-Marchan moved back to her mother’s home. However, he said they were trying to rekindle their marriage and they would both spend time at each other’s home. 

On the day of their death, he said they spent the morning together but when they left that afternoon, they sped off in the vehicle and it appeared that they had an argument but no one knew what it was about.  

Relatives believe Kervin Ransome, who was shot 17 times by gunmen in Claxton Bay yesterday afternoon, was lured to his death by a phone call. Police said high-powered guns were used to kill the 23-year-old Marabella man around 2 pm at his childhood neighbourhood, Lodge Road, Claxton Bay.

Investigations said a green car rammed the back of Ransome’s gray Nissan Sylphy, causing him to crash into bushes. 

Eyewitness said either three or four men began shooting at Ransome who came out of his car and began to run. The gunmen continued shooting after Ransome as they chased him. He tripped and fell down a hill into a resident’s yard and landed on his back in a drain where his killers pumped him with more bullets.

His mother, Rhonda Young, said Ransome, the eldest of her three children, worked at an iron yard a short distance from where he was murdered. Ransome, who was a truck driver, was eating lunch at work when he received a phone call and left. 

“He was not going to work he was going home to lie down but he went and someone called him. Whoever called my son to come here, God will deal with you. God will deal with the persons who pull the trigger. What he do allyuh so... 17 shots,” said Young.

She admitted her son had a long list of matters before the court but she said the police always used to harass him. “Somebody had to see something... big daylight,” she added.

Wiping tears away his common-law wife, Tasha James, 24, said they moved to Marabella two months ago. She last spoke to Ransome who went to court yesterday to support a friend who was locked up.

“He said he was not going to work but he went after,” she added.

Even though he had matters before the court, she said she had no clues why someone would want to kill him.  Police recovered over 18 spent shells.

An autopsy is expected to be performed today at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James. Visiting the scene was a party of policemen from the Claxton Bay, San Fernando and Homicide Bureau. 

Investigations are continuing.

The Police Service is reporting a drop in the number of reported cases of stolen vehicles as for the period January 1 to July 31, 2016 there have been 364 cases when compared to 423 for the corresponding period last year.

Sgt Christopher Swamber, of the Stolen Vehicles Squad, said that represented a 14 per cent decrease. He was speaking yesterday at the weekly police press briefing at Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain.

In the case of robberies of motor vehicles there were 140 reported cases for January 1 to July 31 as opposed to 155 for the corresponding period for 2015, representing a 9.67 decrease, he added.

Nissan-made vehicles still remained the model of choice as out of the 364 vehicles reported stolen 180 were such type, representing almost 50 per cent of the total.

“The Nissan Tiida, B13 and B14 were the main vehicles of choice with reported cases of 57, 47 and 28 respectively,” Swamber said. He said there were 20 reported cases of Mitsubishi Lancers and 17 Toyota Corollas reported stolen.

“With regards to robberies of vehicles, 70 were Nissan, representing 50 per cent of all vehicles taken by robbery,” Swamber said, adding there were 19 such reported cases of the Tiida, Navarra 13 and Toyota Hilux 10.

But despite the reduction, Swamber said the Police Service remained concerned by those particular crimes and urged members of the public to take the necessary precautionary measures, such as installing tracking devices, club locks fitted across the steering wheel, kill switched and gas locks in their vehicles.

He also urged that markings be placed on the engine and chassis since those  numbers were often rubbed off when vehicles were stolen

“Park you vehicles where proper CCTV cameras are installed. What we have noticed is that people are going by dealers and putting all sorts of devices. However, ensure you go by a reputable dealer.

“Put in your vehicle secret markings which you can identify very easily. Ensure the registration numbers are etched on each window of your vehicle and also the windshield rear and front,” Swamber said.

He said within recent times vehicles have been taken at gunpoint, adding that such vehicles come from the manufacturer with coded keys hence those types of keys could only work in those vehicles because they work in sync with the brain boxes of those vehicles.

“When that vehicle is taken it can be easily reregistered. The chassis and engine numbers are changed but if you have your markings... even though it is changed you can be assured you vehicle will be returned to you.

“We will also do a forensic check on your vehicle to ensure it is yours,” Swamber said.

He said that test would be done at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, where it would be determined whether the firewall was changed.

Larceny and robbery of motor vehicle for January 1 to July 31, 201:

Division             Larceny motor vehicle         robbery of vehicles 
PoS                      52                                              4
Southern              56                                              36
Western               37                                                8
Northern            120                                               46
Central                41                                              30
South Western   10                                                5
Eastern               14                                               2
North Eastern     30                                               9
Tobago                4                                                0
Total                  364                                             140

President of the T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA), Gwendolyn Loobie-Snaggs, says nurses need to be aware of their conduct and be properly educated when taking their break period during duty at the nation’s hospitals.

Loobie-Snaggs made the comment in the wake of a photograph posted on social media in which two nurses are seen sleeping while a patient complained of having post-natal pains.

The woman, who posted on social media, said she spent a night in pain without any assistance from the nursing staff at the San Fernando General Hospital.

The patient (name withheld) who delivered her baby by C-section wrote that this was: “Our hardworking nurses at the San Fernando General Hospital. These nurses supposed to be taking care of women who just had C-section. I was in so much pain.

“As I was coughing and feeling how my cut was bleeding I cry that whole night in pain. All the other nurses was very nice just these two.” 

In a brief interview yesterday, Loobie-Snaggs said she did not see the photograph but it was not the practice of nurses to sleep during the shift.

However, Loobie-Snaggs said nurses worked a ten-hour shift in the night and it was negotiated that they could get a break.

“When you get a break you can go in the doctor’s room but can’t go in a deep sleep where you can’t hear the patients calling. You can sit on your desk and put down your head,” she said. She said the nurses needed remedial classes or to be more educated.

“Nurses have to be aware of their conduct. Patients can take pictures with their cellphones. You can’t tell patients not to use their phones.”

“They need to reform their attitude in dealing with the public. They need to take a look at it,” she added.

When contacted Health Minister Terence Deyalsingh declined comment, saying there were heads of departments who should comment on issues like that.  

Attempts to contact CEO Anil Gosine and Alexander Sinanan, chairman of the South-West Regional Health Authority, proved futile.

St James businessman and cultural activist, Earl Crosby, was described yesterday as an emblem of a Christ-like person where he gave himself totally and solely to the culture of T&T. 

This was the tribute paid to Crosby by one of his close friends, calypsonian The Original De Fosto Himself, Winston Scarborough.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday following Crosby’s funeral service, at the St Theresa RC Church, De Verteuil Street, Woodbrook, De Fosto said Crosby was a true patriot and cultural person, who gave calypsonians, like himself, everything.

“Mr Crosby was a Christ in his own way where he reached out selflessly to people, especially artistes, who didn’t have money to record. He would have recorded their songs and it was okay for him if he didn’t make back the money. That’s the kind of person he was.

“He was a gentle soul and a real nice human being,” De Fosto added.

Another of T&T’s prominent calypsonians, former National Calypso Monarch, Michael Anthony Osuana, popularly known as Sugar Aloes, in paying tribute to the late Crosby said he would always remember him as one of the country’s greatest pioneers in the recording business.

“He really helped a lot of young guys, promising guys, who had a one-foot hit. Crosby made them into someone in the art form.

“Earl was a very pleasant person who always had a smile. He reminded me of... one size fits all...  a smile. Very passionate guy,” he added.

Former National Calypso Monarch Duane O'Connor said there should be more persons like Crosby to continue on in his legacy.

“More should follow. It have few people who try to live the life that Crosby did in the love of the culture but to be this dedicated as Crosby would be hard. He could have jumped away from it but his love for his culture was too strong. He was down-to-earth and had a calm demeanour. May he rest in peace.”

After the funeral service there was a final procession in Crosby’s honour in St James.  The “city that never sleeps” (St James) was transformed into a mini carnival parade of traditional mas, featuring Jab Jabs, Indians and Moko Jumbies.

Crosby’s niece, comedienne Nikki Crosby, was seen dancing her way behind her uncle’s hearse alongside the music truck  to the Western Cemetery, George Cabral Street, for his burial.

During the delivery of her eulogy, Nikki said her uncle was known as the mayor of St James. She said he was a gentle soul, one who was never about the money and a prankster.

Being the humourous person that she is, Nikki had to stick in her comedic mannerisms, causing several outbursts of laughter but to her it was how she celebrated her uncle’s life.

Reminiscing on the seriousness in which Crosby took to the culture of T&T, Nikki said she remembered him coming to her to “lick-way” music pirates at Independence Square, Port-of-Spain.

“He was really irritated by the music piracy that was happening and that day when he came to me to go with him may have been the only violent thought that my uncle had ever had because he was such a gentle soul.

“He also reinforced what my daddy taught us, which was all we have was our name and we leave with it, so do good,” Nikki said

Officiating priest, Father Ashton Pierre, also spoke of the impact Crosby had in T&T’s culture and in the world.

Crosby, who died at the age of 65 last week Wednesday after succumbing to cancer, leaves to mourn his four children — Kevin, Kern, Kearlene and Jonathan — and his companion, Anne-Marie Placide. He was the grandfather of four, Cameron, Chrysta, Kayden and Kaleb.

Firefighters are still trying to determine the cause of Monday’s fire at Cipero Street, San Fernando, which left a father and daughter hospitalised, destroyed their home, partially gutted two other buildings and incurred millions of dollars in losses.

James Leung, 52, a Chinese national, and his daughter Sapphia, nine, suffered superficial burns to their face and hands when the fire began in their two-storey home around 3 pm. Leung’s wife and 14-year-old son also lived with them but they were not hurt in blaze.

The fire reportedly started at Leung’s home, which was once a popular Chinese restaurant, Golden Terrance, and then spread to the buildings on either side.

Only the top floor of a three-storey building, which housed Draperies and Interiors Mega Traders Ltd and a hardware store, were gutted while another building which housed a cake store and spa/salon was partially burnt.

However, fire officials said only the top floor of Draperies and Interiors Mega Traders Ltd was gutted while the other building was partially gutted. When the T&T Guardian visited the scene no one was at Mega Traders Ltd. 

However, at the other partially burnt structure businesswomen Crystal Jagassar and Binda Collie Baldeo were counting their losses. Their businesses were not open when the fire started.

Jagassar, owner of The Elegant Touch Spa, who had been renting there for the past eight years, told the T&T Guardian she lost everything. She said Denise Myco who worked in the same building as a hairdresser also lost all her valuables. “We lost about $100,000 here. I just restock, all my equipment everything burned,” she said. 

Baldeo, owner of Cake Fiesta, a cake shop downstairs Crystal’s business, said her losses were significant. “I think about $50,000. We are not insured but the landlady said she is insured,” she said.

The landlady, who lived in an adjacent two-storey house with her son, also suffered a lot of losses due to water damage because the firefighters used her property to get to the affected buildings.

Her son said: “They came in to wet our building on the side and the other building. They broke all out windows. The water was about ankle high in our house. The furniture, fixtures were water soaked. The basement had knee high water. We had plenty water damage.”

Owner of Motor Master, Ravi Seereeram, who was renting downstairs the landlady’s house but had almost completely moved out his goods as he was in the process of relocating to Munroe Road, Cunupia, said he suffered no losses.

“This part of the building was affected by water and smoke,” he said.

T&T swimmer George Bovell III yesterday lashed out at the world governing body for swimming, FINA, for allowing drug cheats free reign in the sport. 

He said as a result the current swimming competition at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had effectively become a realty TV show in which the cheats were winning while the athletes who stuck to the true tenets of the Olympic spirit were always on the losing end. 

Bovell made the comment to the UK Guardian moments after he failed to make it into the semi-finals of his pet event, the 50-metre freestyle yesterday. 

He placed third in heat eight in a time of 22.30 seconds but could not make the next round. 

“I came into the Olympics, my first Olympics, believing in the ancient legacy of heroic sporting glory and now I am leaving after my fifth Olympics seeing it for what it is, sadly, a media franchise,” he told the paper. 

Bovell accused FINA of letting down the swimmers and the sport, saying the world body’s approach to anti-doping “has made it very, very obvious that this is really a glorified reality TV show.

“They (FINA) have shown the world that the Olympics is now a spectacle, not a competition and I think it cheapens everything,” he said, adding: “Swimmers are being“let down by the people at the top of the sport.”

Doping has been a big issue at the Games, especially in the wake of the ban of the entire Russian team from competing in Brazil weeks before the event after their athletes were exposed to be part of a massive State-run doping programme. 

Some of their athletes, however, were quietly allowed back in the Games at the last minute. 

The Russians have five swimmers at the Games and they have been feeling the wraith of the fans who have been booing some of them as they take to the pool for events.

For his part, Bovell said he knew he was competing against dopers. 

“I see the cheating going on. I see the people with terrible technique swimming incredible times and the people dropping lots of time late in their careers.” 

However, he said the swimmers were being exploited by FINA. 

“The people at the bottom, like us, we just feel like gladiators. Ancient Roman slave gladiators,” he said.

Bovell, who is in his fifth Olympics in 16 years, had been hinting his disappointment at the situation in tweets prior to yesterday. 

However, yesterday’s interview finally put on record in a major way his true feelings of the mess FINA has made of its anti-doping policies. 

He added he was not the only swimmer upset at FINA’s approach to doping either. Bovell said there were a lot of conversations going on away from the press. 

“There is a general consensus that we have been let down and we are fed up,” he said.

Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, yesterday raised “red flags” about the Caribbean Gas Chemical Ltd (CGCL) deal initiated under the then People’s Partnership government, saying if it had been allowed to go through it would have cost the country billions of dollars in losses.

Stuart also revealed that former attorney general, Garvin Nicholas, was pressured into signing off on the deal on election day, September 7, 2015.

Young made the disclosure in the presence of the acting Prime Minister, Colm Imbert, during the post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

He said all the “red flags” in the deal would be revealed in a ministerial document which would be released when Parliament resumed next month.

In April 2015, Mitsubishi Group (Japan) had signed a deal with National Gas Company (NGC) and Massy Holdings to construct a methanol plant in La Brea, with an investment of TT $1 billion.

Upon assuming office, Young said they were approached by a group of investors asking for the provision of an opinion of the Attorney General in the CGCL deal.

“When we went to find out what happened I discovered cause for concern. When we got to the files at the AG’s office, much to our dismay, we found a number of red flag items by the attorneys who had been looking at this transaction,” Young said.

He said the People’s National Movement decided not to proceed with the deal in its current form.

“What had been agreed upon by the former administration was something that had the potential to expose T&T to billions of (US) dollars in claims.

“One of the things we found when we went back to the records is that on September 7, 2015, which is actually the day of the election, we found that an unusual amount of pressure being put on the technocrats at the Ministry of the Attorney General by the politicians to have a sign-off of the AG’s opinion on the day of election,” he added.

Young said following their discovery, the Government had a conversation with Massy Group, the government of Japan through its governmental bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), as well as the Mitsubishi Group. He said he also travelled to Japan for a two-day visit to speak to Mitsubishi and the Japanese government.

Following months of productive negotiations with the institutions, Young said the PNM was able to come up with an amendment to the agreement “that extracted T&T” from those billion dollar claims.

Last week, Young said, officials from the Mitsubishi Group came to T&T to sign the amended agreement.

Imbert, as acting PM, signed a letter of comfort, while Young signed a document that concluded the transaction.

Imbert said although there was pressure to sign the initial deal, no signature was affixed, while the “investors had used their own monies to start the project to do site preparation and other preliminary work. Now that the last two documents have been signed it will allow a release of funds.”

With the deal now signed, Young said that had increased the confidence of the Japanese government and Mitsubishi, who now see T&T as a bigger potential market for further investments.

Among the benefits T&T stood to gain from the new deal, Young said, was money from the sale of gas from the plant, while Government was a 20 per cent shareholder in the project.

While the main output of the project was methanol, Young said there would also be associated downstream projects with the generation of 1,000 jobs.

“This will bring employment to the La Brea community,” he said.

Nicholas: I didn’t sign off 

Last night, Nicholas said he did not sign off on the initial agreement “because I did not think it was proper to sign off on any deal on election day.”

He said he believed it would have been more appropriate for the incoming government, which ever party was elected into office.

President and CEO of the Massy Group, Gervase Warner, confirmed the amended deal yesterday, saying:

“When we negotiate with whoever the government is at any point in time we would always be trying to negotiate something that makes sense to the country so we would have had those types of conversations with the last government and we would have continued negotiating with them to get to a point where what we had in place was something that we felt was equitable and fair.”

​CGCL project

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will own 26.25 per cent, 26.25 per cent and 17.5 per cent interests in the project, while NGC and Massy will have the remaining 20 per cent and 10 per cent stakes respectively.

The proposed project also includes construction of a dimethyl ether plant.

The complex is expected to produce one million tonnes of methanol and 20,000 tonnes of dimethyl ether a year.

Work on the complex is planned to be completed in June 2018.

Agreement signing

On August 8, 2016, Imbert, accompanied by Young, Minister of Energy Nicole Olivierre received a Japanese and local delegation for the ceremonial signing of the Amendment Agreement, the Letter of Comfort and the Attorney General’s Opinion, related to the project agreement for the establishment of a natural gas to petrochemical complex for the production of methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) at Union Industrial Estate, La Brea. 

The establishment of the plant is a collaboration among Japan’s Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company Inc, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the NGC and the Massy Group of Companies.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh yesterday said the number of Zika cases they had recorded were inaccurate and there were more than the 247 confirmed cases, with the likelihood that the figure was in the thousands.

He was speaking to the media during a mosquito eradication exercise at Boissierre Village, Maraval. 

Members of the Insect Vector, Army Rapid Response, Diego Martin Regional Corporation and Zika Task Force were present.

The exercise began at the Ellerslie Plaza car park and took the group up Vallot Street, across Harold and down Tapti Road.

During the exercise, Deyalsingh visited the home of several residents pointing out places that were potential breeding places for the mosquitoes. 

He shook his head and steupsed several times as he walked away from several premises with old abandoned vehicles, rubbish and empty bottles.

Deyalsingh said the purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the fight against the aedes aegypti had not waned.

“We are keeping up the fight in St George West, where the bulk of the cases are coming. There are 247 confirmed and 78 pregnant women and 84 in St George West, which is 30 to 40 per cent of the cases. To that end we are stepping up our activities in St George West,” he said.

Deyalsingh said the 200-plus cases of Zika were the confirmed cases by blood test and 84 cases were in St George West. 

Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Clive Tilluckdharry, stood beside Deyalsingh and confirmed when asked whether the figure of people with Zika was numbering in the thousands.

“With the rash, fever, headaches is Zika, the number of cases in the thousands, that is Zika,” he said.

His advice for couples attempting to have children: “You can get pregnant you know, but take the necessary precautions and keep your environs free of the aedes aegypti. Use bed nets, insect repellent, not all pregnant women with Zika end up with microcephaly.”

During the tour, Deyalsingh said Government could only do so much as he pointed out several homes were a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the population had to get on board.

He described as “shocking” one case in which they found 30 beef bottles in a derelict vehicle. Several of the bottles had water in them with mosquito larvae.

“I am pleading with the public for them to take part in the solutions. It is a co-ordinated response. This is not only in T&T, it is globally who are affected.

“We saw another house where there were 30 bottles and 30 potential breeding sites in one residence. The population is still not getting the message we want. 

“Spreading is not the only answer. The more we spray the more resistance is the mosquito. We have to make sure there are no breeding sites,” he said.

Tilluckdharry said aerial spraying was not effective when questioned about the virus.

Deyalsingh said all corporations also needed to step up their game. 

He said Government had increased the fine from $300 up to $3,500 for residents with unkept lots under the Yellow Fever Regulations but some property owners were calling him to either get those fees waived or the period for payment extended. 

He said, however, it was time for property owners to take responsibility in the fight against Zika.

One resident complained to Deyalsingh that the corporation was not picking up derelict vehicles but a checker from the regional corporation who was on hand quickly dispelled that thought.

“That’s not true, I work here and I know they pick up the vehicles,” the checker said.

Chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, Katy Christopher, said the Ministry of Health sprayed the communities but as a corporation they did four clean-up campaigns. 

“We are cleaning water courses in every district for the next two months. We normally do secondary drains under the cycle and we are doing what we can with a limited budget and being creative,” she added.

Breakdown of Zika cases by region:

• St George West: 91.

• St George Central: 39.

• St George East: 30.

• St Andrew/St David 4.

• Caroni: 20.

• Victoria: 45.

• St patrick: 12.

• Nariva/Mayaro: 0.

• Tobago: 6.

• Unknown: 8.

• Non-citizen: 1.

One of the witnesses against a businessman and four suspended employees of Couva/ Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC), accused of conspiring to defraud the corporation of $149,500, has reported to the police that he has received threats.

This was brought to the attention of Couva Senior Magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan yesterday, who issued a stern warning to all the accused not to make threats to any of the witnesses.

Corporation CEO Carol Dyal; Barry Samaroo, a chief engineer; Maniram Mohess, county superintendent; Ian Gokool, road officer and Mahase Sookai, a businessman from Central Trinidad first appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on Monday where the charges were read to them. 

They were granted $300,000 bail each and the matter was transferred to the Couva court since the crime allegedly took place in that jurisdiction.

When the matter was called, prosecutor Sgt Lincoln Bonnet informed the magistrate that Samaroo allegedly threatened the person who made the report against him.

Bonnet produced a station diary extract from the Couva Police Station, dated August 9, about the alleged threats made by Samaroo.

The magistrate then warned Samaroo, in particular, and all the accused against threatening or engaging any of the witnesses directly or indirectly. 

He also told the prosecution to advise his witnesses against engaging the accused in any way as to provoke them.

The charge alleged that they conspired to defraud the corporation through the installation of outdoor exercise equipment at the San Pablo Recreation Ground and the Todd’s Road Activity Centre.

It is alleged that Sookai’s company was awarded the contracts and was paid despite no work being done. The crime allegedly took place on September 20 last year. 

The five were held at the corporation at Railway Road, Couva, following investigations by Fraud Squad Officers. Insp Ramdhanie Dipchan laid the charge.

The magistrate was also informed by Bonnet that a State attorney had to be appointed in the matter and such the file had to be prepared and sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The magistrate said she expected disclosure to be made to the defence attorneys on the next occasion once a State attorney came on board.

Dyal was represented by attorney Mervyn Campbell, Samaroo by attorney Richard Sirjoo, Mohess by Lennox Sankarsingh, Gokool by attorney Michael Rooplal and Sookai by Irshad Ali.

They are expected to reappear on November 29.

If Patrick Manning was still alive and prime minister of T&T, citizens would be benefiting greatly from his Vision 20/20 plan, former public utilities minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says.

Abdul-Hamid, who served in the People’s National Movement (PNM) government between 2001 to 2010, was one of a few former ministers who defended Manning’s legacy at a memorial service on Wednesday at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts. 

“We have a lot to learn and I would hope that our present and future governments take pattern from Mr Manning and will consult or refer to his work. What this country sorely needs is to go back to 2010 and pick up from where we left off,” Abdul-Hamid said.

Wednesday marked 40 days since Manning died of acute myeloid leukemia at the San Fernando General Hospital. Still heartbroken, hundreds filled the Sundar Popo Theatre, where his former colleagues shared their memories and lit candles in his honour. 

There were also performances by the Divine Echoes, the Presentation College, San Fernando choir, the Southerners Choir and Skiffle Steel Orchestra.

In his tribute, Abdul-Hamid backed Vision 20/20 as the most comprehensive plan for the country, saying while many criticised it, they were reaping the benefits.

He said even when Manning came to his Cabinet with a plan to invest in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), there were ministers who rejected it, saying if Venezuela decided to build a similar plant, it would have been a wasted investment.

He said through Manning’s persistence and careful planning, T&T rose to be one of the leading exporters of LNG. 

But with advancements in fracking methods in the US, he said Manning knew the high profitability of LNG would expire and set about for a new prosperity plan for the next 20 years. 

This plan included the setting up of an aluminum industry for which he had already found a partner in Brazil. Abdul-Hamid said that would have led T&T to manufacture and export products such as rims, furniture, utensils, vehicles parts and louvres.

Manning’s proposed Allutrint aluminum complex, which, was earmarked for the Union Industrial Estate, La Brea, was heavily protested against by environmentalists and the Opposition United National Congress and the Congress of the People. 

The protesters cited pollution and long-term illness. However, Abdul Hamid said it was part of a plan for the industrialisation of the southwest peninsula. 

Although Manning went ahead with the planning, it was scrapped by the People’s Partnership coalition who evicted the PNM from government office in the 2010 general election. 

Policies, such as the Government Assistance for Tuition Expense (Gate), the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help), the Accreditation Council of T&T and expansion of skills and performing arts programmes were a testament to Manning’s focus on education. He said Manning was deeply loyal to country and was a man of integrity who did not live a luxurious life.

Hart did no wrong

One of Manning’s downfall in the 2010 election was said his defence of former Urban Development Corporation (Udecott) chairman Calder Hart, who was accused of corruption. 

However, former housing, planning and the environment minister Emily Dick-Forde told the audience that Manning maintained Hart’s innocence.

“Ever the courageous and caring leader that he was, Mr Manning said to me in early June, ‘Emily, Calder Hart was not corrupt.’ I said, ‘I know sir,’ but I knew he was not trying to convince me because he knew that I knew that.

“He was not trying to convince me, he was expressing his deep concern about his personal loss and public hate that was unleashed on Mr Calder Hart for being a loyal and extremely hardworking soldier to Patrick Manning,” Dick-Forde said.

She said the entire elite of T&T continued to enjoy “to the max,” the works of Manning and Hart. She said she repented on behalf of the nation for the wrongs that were perpetrated on Hart and Manning, hoping that one day “the light will be turned on and many would be made ashamed.”

Not to blame for

election defeat

On May 24, 2010, a dejected Manning left Balisier House, Port-of-Spain, defeated and heckled by supporters who blamed him for a bruising general election loss. 

But to PNM deputy political leader, Joan Yuille-Williams, party members should stop passing the blame, instead accept responsibility.

Williams admitted that there were difficulties within and outside the PNM camp, which led to Manning calling an election. 

That, she said, was a decision he gave to the people on whether they wanted him to stay or not. She said the defeat had nothing to do with Manning calling the election early. 

“I want to say now that a number of people blamed Patrick Manning for the loss of the election. I stand here on this platform and say I don’t blame him at all. 

“One of the things that showed that he did not go out there to take anything that anybody else wanted is that he believed that, ‘If you don’t want me and you don’t like me, what I am doing is giving you a choice.’ Yes around that time he had some difficulties with some people, inside and outside,” Williams said.

She told the audience that Manning’s plan for his retirement from politics was to be a pastor. Even though his ill-health and death prevented that, she said she and her colleagues were recipients to several of his sermons.

General manager of Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) Ronald Forde has denied that the corporation has been using parts from derelict buses to service vehicles down for repairs.

He, however, admitted when two buses of the same model were down, PTSC would occasionally remove a part from one of the bus to repair the other.

Forde said for this year, PTSC has injected $20 million in spare parts for its fleet of 350 buses which comprises 27 models.

He was responding to claims made by Transport and Industrial Workers Union, Roland Sutherland, who on Tuesday in a T&T Guardian article raised concerns about the safety of State-owned PTSC buses, stating they were running its service by cannibalising old buses to repair buses that were down.

Also supporting Sutherland’s claims was Public Services Association branch president, Darryl Lamy, who stated that complaint had also reached the ears of the association.

On Wednesday, Forde, along with acting general manager of PTSC, Carl Ramdeo, gave the T&T Guardian a tour of corporation’s workshop and two storerooms to show where they purchase and use original parts for its fleet.

Among the parts in the storerooms were for brakes, airbags, radiators, windscreens and windows which were stacked on shelves, while in the workshop several mechanics said old parts were not used.

At one corner of PTSC’s compound were 15 buses awaiting repairs. Written on the inside of the windscreens of the parked buses were the parts of which PTSC were in short supply.

Among them were injectors and turbo chargers.

“In any industry globally you may have a bus down. There is a part needed that I have ordered but there is a bus that is parked up there awaiting major repairs and I need a small part to get the bus that is down out to move hundreds of commuters out. 

“That is the norm in the industry. I borrow the part of that bus so the other bus would come out (be repaired). But to make a categorical statement that PTSC uses old parts on its buses, that is not true. One thing PTSC does not do is chinks with buying parts,” Forde said.

The unavailability of foreign exchange Forde admitted has been causing some delay in purchasing parts from China and Brazil.

Once an order was placed for a major part from the buses’ manufacturers, Forde said it would take around six to eight weeks to get here.

Small parts were purchased from over 100 local service providers, Forde said, while showing wads of bills of parts that had been purchased.

He said some of the setbacks PTSC had been faced with was the ages of its buses, some of which were 24 years old. The average age of a PTSC fleet, Forde added was 11 years.

“International benchmark is six years,” he said.

Forde admitted that PTSC was looking to get out of its hands bus parts that were no longer in use.

“Many of the buses had become obsolete. The board is looking at a way to dispose of the parts. If we can secure somebody who still uses those buses in the region or internationally we would sell them the parts,” he said.

He revealed that Cabinet had approved a bus rationalisation programme for its fleet.

Instead of using 27 models of buses, PTSC wanted to have on its fleet only four types, he said.

“There is no other country in the world that you can find that (27 models). How it got there I don’t know. I came and met it so. It makes no sense,” he added.

Currently, Forde said, procuring parts was a nightmare while stocking and managing thousand of parts for the different types of buses were a recipe for disaster.

He said PTSC was in the process of refurbishing and rationalising its fleet to make the organisation self-sustainable.

Forde said people were going out of their way to pull down PTSC’s name.

“They relish and love that. What they should be talking about is the pilferage going on inside here. Only this morning they took out some of the windows from a small bus. A battery was also stolen. I now have to put mechanisms in place by fabricating wrought iron cages to lock down the batteries,” he said.

Questioned how long the stealing has been occurring, Forde said for a while, but said that it had to stop.

“PTSC is now in the processing of obtaining security cameras for all our facilities. That should curtail it in a big way,” he said. The cameras are expected to cost PTSC over $1 million.

The thieves, Forde said, have a preference for tyres, small batteries and turbo chargers.

A few months aback, Forde said, a driver and mechanic in South were caught carting away batteries while another employee was found tampering with a bill to embellish the price of items.

“As long as we catch you that is it. We make sure you have a fair trial and we get you out of the operation,” he said.

Despite a high visibility of security officers at entry and exits points, the stealing still occurs.

Questioned if PTSC was looking to reduce its staff and managers, Forde was unable to say.

“We are in the process of conducting a manpower audit to ensure what the taxpayers are paying for they get value for money.

“The audit, which has already been approved by the board, will go out for tender. The only shake-up I would like to see in PTSC is better exchange with labour for money,” he said.

Forde said the appraisal of all employees would be looked at.

In going forward, Forde said the acquisition of 70 CNG buses, which is expected to cost upward of $40 million, would help improve PTSC’s service.

He said PTSC had also awarded a contract to a Venezuela company to refurbish eight articulated buses which were down.

Twelve rounds of ammunition for a AK-47 rifle was recoverered by police in Claxton Bay yesterday not far from where Kervin “Shabby” Ransome was killed in a hail of bullets on Wednesday.

The 7.62 calibre ammunition was reportedly discovered in some bushes off Cemetery Street around 6.30 pm during an anti-crime exercise by Chaguanas police. No one was arrested.

Less than five hours earlier Ransome was murdered by a group of men armed with high-powered guns. 

Reports stated that Ransome, a truck driver/loader, was at his Claxton Bay job site at New Millennium Metal when he received a phone call and left in his Nissan Sylphy.

Around 2 pm while driving along Lodge Road, a green B-13 reversed into the front of his car. Four masked men, dressed in camouflage outfits, came out and began firing at the car. Ransome came out of his car and began to run. 

He was pursued by the assailants who continued shooting at him. Ransome ran about 100 feet before he fell in a drain.

The getaway car was found abandoned on Rig Road North, St Margaret’s Village. Both vehicles were impounded at the Couva Police Station.

Ransome was reportedly shot 17 times. An autopsy performed yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, only stated he died from multiple gunshot wounds. 

Ransome’s father said funeral arrangements were not yet finalised.

Cpl Singh of Homicide Region 3 is continuing investigations.

Leader of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU), Ancel Roget, has threatened to “step up its game” and take it to another level should Government fail to settle all outstanding negotiations.

Yesterday, hundreds of unionised workers from the University of T&T, Petrotrin, University of the West Indies and T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) braved the inclement weather and marched from outside the Central Bank, Brian Lara Promenade, to the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Soaked in the rain the members, led by Roget, chanted: “We want we money, we want we money.” 

They also marched around the building several times while the post-Cabinet media briefing was in progress with the acting prime minister Colm Imbert and the Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young.

Roget met briefly with the Minister of Labour, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, when he delivered a two-page letter addressed to the acting PM and Minister of Finance and the Economy, Colm Imbert.

He said a majority of these collective agreements were approaching the third period of collective bargaining with no settlement in sight for the first period.

He said the then government deliberately refused to settle those negotiations as a means of punishing unions who “dared to stand up in the country’s interest.

“Having been victimised by the last government, it appears that this Government has chosen to turn a blind eye on this most untenable situation, to continue along the destructive path set by the last government.

“This entire situation is not only disappointing but indeed it is also regrettable. In its attempt to settle all outstanding negotiations, this Government must demonstrate equality in treatment and therefore our outstanding negotiations must be addressed,” Roget said. He said workers would not tolerate treatment with disdain and disrespect and promised next time the union would return with more in numbers.

“If the Government don’t hear, they will feel with our presence here in town. We are not here to beg but demand that our negotiations be settled,” Roget said.

MORE INFO

Outstanding wage and salary negotiations that are unsettled:

• T&TEC for the period 2011-2014.

• Petrotrin for the period 2011-2014.

• T&T National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd for the period 2011-2014.

• UWI for the period 2011-2013 for daily paid and 2011-2014 for monthly paid.

• UTT for the period 2012-2015.

Two of three family members held in connection with the arms and ammunition haul allegedly found at a Piparo house on Sunday have been released.

The third man, a 59-year-old, remains in custody at the Princes Town Police Station and is expected to be charged.

The other two men, a father and son (the third man’s brother and nephew), were released upon instructions from the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul.

Investigators were also given instructions to conduct further inquires before charging the third man. 

All three were arrested after 6,800 rounds of assorted ammunition and five high-powered guns were found in a house at Piparo Road.

Investigations are continuing.

It is more for complaining against the health care system that I bring myself to write this letter, voicing my grief, believing that my son should have been alive instead of having to be making funeral arrangements for him. 

After having been hospitalised for having a stroke, my son was yet able to walk when I took him to the outpatients clinic, until he suddenly became immobile. 

When he had shown signs of turning for the worse the ambulance was called and he was taken to the Siparia health facility. The doctor attending to him informed me to get some things from home for him because he was surely sending him to the hospital. 

On arrival at the hospital, however, I received a call from the health facility telling me that they had changed their mind about sending him.

I returned to the health facility to be told by the doctor that the senior doctor said he saw no reason to send him to the hospital so I was made to take him back home.

Back at home a couple weeks later, we had cause to call the ambulance again. The doctors at both the health facility and the hospital where he was now rushed to, had ominous news for me.

These doctors were now asking me why we took so long, after he became bed-ridden, to bring him to the hospital.

I told them why, but I want to tell this story to the national public as well. In my grief, it is my strong belief that my son could have been alive right now if a junior doctor’s prognosis was not shot down by a senior doctor’s. 

Such a shameful state is our health care provision.

Winston M Patterson 

Pepper Village, Fyzabad

With the support of dozens of residents and farmers in Barrackpore, farmer Ricky Gangadhar has started a petition to rid the community of hundreds of bison that roam the streets at night.

Gangadhar, who says he was shot last Tuesday after speaking out about the animals, intends to take the petition to Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat on Monday to ask for his intervention. 

He is hoping Rambharat will order the animals owner to secure them or order the ministry to remove the animals from the streets if the owner does not take responsibility for them.

When the T&T Guardian visited him at his Ramsabad Trace, Barrackpore home yesterday, Gangadhar broke down in tears, as he expressed frustration over the situation.

He says he was attacked by a relative of the animals owner because meetings with other farmers were held at his home, where the problem of the bison was discussed. 

Gangadhar’s story first broke on Ian Alleyne’s Crime Watch earlier this week as he went to Alleyne to seek justice. 

“I was in my garden spraying with the spray can on my back when this guy, who I know very well, came on my land and he started talking to me,” he recalled. “He was asking if I would plough some land for him but same time the breeze blow a rag off his hand and I see him holding a gun.”

After a scuffle in which he said he feared for his life, Gangadhar escaped.

Yesterday, Gangadhar had many questions over the alleged lack of action from the Barrackpore Police Station.

“It is decades these people have bison roaming through the village, destroying crops, property and frightening people, it has to stop sometime.”

He is confident that he will be able to amass 500 signatures by Monday.

In Ramsingh Trace, farmers Sanjay Bridgemohan and Beepath Ramkissoon reiterated Gangadhar’s statements. 

Ramkissoon said, “I have five acres I usually plant, but because of the same thing with the bison, I hardly plant anything this year. It is very difficult to plant and work so hard and the animals just trampling over everything.”

I lost about $20,000 in one night.”

A short distance away, in Seebalack Branch Trace, residents also complained about the bison.

Mechanic Baldath Sonilal said the animals attacked his clients and damaged one vehicle.

“I have customers afraid to come by me because of that, I have to lose business.”

Resident Lilawatee Rajkumar said she lives in fear that the animals will attack her. 

“When I have to go to work in the morning, I have to pay a taxi to come all the way inside this road and pick me up, cause I ‘fraid to walk out,” she said. “If I can’t get nobody to come in, cause taxis ‘fraid to work inside too, I does walk up that hill and run down the other side, cause I know the day them things pick up with me, that is it.”