Leader of the Highway Re-Route Movement Dr Wayne Kublalsingh has rejected an appeal by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran to end his hunger strike and to drink a glass of water. Instead, Kublalsingh has described Dookeran’s requests as “insulting.”
Kublalsingh yesterday completed 19 days of his second hunger strike as he leads the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) in protest against the Debe to Mon Desir section of the Point Fortin Highway extension. He will return to his position outside the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair today to continue his action.
The group and Kublalsingh continued to call for Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to halt work on the leg and reassess the economic, environmental and social impacts of the section, as was recommended in the John Armstrong report, and its alternative route proposal.
Archbishop Joseph Harris and Anglican Bishop Claude Berkeley have also called on the PM to meet with Kublalsingh on the issue. In a release on the weekend, they also invited the public to pray on the matter, saying they hoped the two could find it in their hearts to “take two steps towards each other.” The HRM has maintained they remain in favour of the main artery of the highway into Point Fortin, which they believe is desperately needed by communities in that part of south Trinidad.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Kublalsingh said he spoke to Dookeran via phone late Friday evening. “Dookeran called me and said he wanted to meet with me. He told me he was very troubled by what was happening. I told him having a meeting with him made no sense at this time,” Kublalsingh said.
“I told him his Government is filled with white collar criminals and if he really wanted to help the Highway Re-Route Movement he should intercede on our behalf and advise the prime minister on the benefits of our optimum connectivity proposal and try to convince her to meet with our technical team.”
Their new proposal, he said, is based on a main road, similar to the connecting roads in the area, running from the Debe interchange across the main road at Gandhi Village, parallel to Debe Trace, crossing Suchit Trace, across to Gopie Trace, running parallel to Raju Trace, crossing San Francique Main Road, and on to the SS Erin Main road south of the San Francique/SS Erin Main Road.
“This main road is based on the concept of connector road. Connector, link, by-pass, auxiliary, feeder roads go around communities and are less destructive than highways where huge economic, social and ecological resources are at risk,” Kublalsingh said.
“It would be built at the level and width of other roads in the area and so will fit into the general road architecture, not disrupt and fragment it. There will be no need for large destructive interchanges at Penal, Siparia, Fyzabad or overpasses and underpasses. It will take approximately minutes at most to get from one end to the other.”