More than 30 fishermen were unable to access their boats and nets over the weekend after heavy rainfall caused a series of landslips along the Morne Diablo Main Road. Up to late yesterday, crews from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation were busy trying to build an alternative access route along the teak fields.
Fisherman Andy Mohan said Morne Diablo Main Road is the way in and out of the fishing village. He said on Friday night, heavy rains caused the road to slip in three places, toppling electrical lines and poles. A gaping hole developed along the roadway as several teak trees leaned along the 50-foot precipice.
“We could not work for three days because there was no access to the beach. We called the regional corporation and we are happy that they are trying to repair the landslips,” Mohan said, pointing to the collapsed road as an excavator continued to level a muddy passage to allow vehicular access. Another fisherman, Andy Bissessar, said while some people went to sea yesterday fish vendors could not access the beach with their trucks.
“We still losing money because we have nobody to buy our catch. We hoping that this road could be repaired properly as soon as possible so the vendors could come in,” Bissessar said. Kyle Mohammed, who lives in the area, said the heavy machinery using the road could have contributed to the collapse, “When they are cutting down teak, a lot of heavy trucks come in here. They need to rehabilitate this entire road and set up restrictions for heavy vehicles,” Mohammed said.
Fisherman Larry Ramnarine said the Mon Diablo fishermen needed to get their lives back to normal. He called on the minister to repair the road as soon as possible.
Chairman responds
• Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Premchand Sookoo said he received a call from councillor Diptee Ramnath on Saturday about the landslips. He said he despatched a backhoe to clear the rubble. Sookoo said he will contact the Ministry of Works Highways Division today to make representation for road repairs