As environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh gets weaker by the minute, Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) leader David Abdulah has been encouraging civil society groups to support a new proposal for the Debe to Mon Desir section of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension. Kublalsingh spent yesterday, the 13th day of his second hunger strike, reclining on a chair and being occasionally wiped with a cloth soaked in water. He complained of a heat in his mouth and chest and expressed surprise that his body had lasted through the weekend.
The activist has engaged Abdulah’s assistance in lobbying the group’s cause, which is to reroute the Debe to Mon Desir section of the highway to reduce the displacement of families and environmental damage. “My body keeps going. It is something that amazes me. I just feel very weak, very dehydrated but it keeps going. I am feeling a heat in my mouth and chest area down to my bowel area but I am good to go for today. “I don’t know about tomorrow. I have given strict instructions to my doctor and to an associate that if my body relents, they will take full charge of the situation,” Kublalsingh said.
Abdulah last Wednesday unveiled to the media the new route being proposed by the group. Sitting under an umbrella at the side of Kublalsingh, opposite the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair, yesterday, Abdulah said he spent Sunday speaking with civil society organisations and would continue discussions this week. “I believe some of them will sign on to the alternative route. We expect that a large number of civil society organisations will sign on.” “Quite a lot of organisations who were not familiar with the new proposal were impressed by the soundness of the presentation and the sense that the proposal makes in terms of solving the traffic problems of the communities of Siparia and Penal, Debe and so on and saving taxpayers billions of dollars. It will no longer necessitate a four-lane highway from Debe to Mon Desir,” Abdulah said.
He said the new proposal could be implemented in a much shorter timeframe and also save degradation of the Oropouche lagoon. “It will ensure no further homes or families are displaced and it will save a massive amount of quarrying in the Northern Range and environmental implications of such quarrying. “This is really a win-win situation, where taxpayers save money, commuters have their traffic woes alleviated, communities remain intact and the environment is not degraded any further,” he added.
Abdulah said the civil society organisations which he had consulted yesterday had endorsed the proposal as a win-win proposal. “We want to put forward to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that this is a fair, just and reasonable and sound way to solve this impasse,” he said. He seemed unperturbed about the lack of response from the Government. “These things take some time and only a few days have passed for people to understand the benefits,” he noted.
Case history
In 2012, Kublalsingh went without food and water for 21 days which ended after civil society groups petitioned Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to conduct an independent review of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway. Persad-Bissessar agreed to set up a committee to review the segment and this committee was led by former independent senator Dr James Armstrong.
The committee, in its report, stated there was insufficient detail with respect to the socio-cultural environment and more detail was needed.
The committee also recommended that a social impact assessment and noted that there appeared to be a lack of adequate consultation with agricultural land owners and no clear provision for the compensation of people who stood to lose property. Last week, the Highway Reroute Movement failed in its third attempt to obtain an injunction to stop construction of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway before the Court of Appeal. The group is currently awaiting a date for a hearing on the same matter with the Privy Council in London.