A doubles vendor was burned on her upper body when hot oil spilled on her after an accident involving a Public Transport Service Commission (PTSC) bus yesterday. Radica Ramroop, 21, a mother of two, of Taitt Madhoo Road, Freeport was frying doubles on the back of a van around 5 am on Tuesday, at Railway Road, Couva, when the driver of a bus collided with the van. She said she fell and hot oil fell spilled on her. She was burnt on her hands, neck and feet.
She said a fire ignited at the back of the van but it was quickly extinguished by other vendors. She was taken to the Couva District Health Facility treatment by her husband. Ramroop said she was unable to work for her employer, Roma Pooran, who owns the doubles van. Pooran said bus drivers along Railway Road had a habit of operating vehicles with a level of arrogance and a lack of due care an attention.
Shayam Mohammed, another doubles vendor, said vendors had been operating out of the Couva car park for more than a decade. Mohammed said the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation decided to relocate only doubles vendors from the car park and squeeze them into a small spot at Railway Road.
He said doubles vendors were being discriminated against by the corporation since other food vendors were being allowed to sell in the public car park. Mohammed said their present location was not only dangerous but contributed to traffic congestion. Mohammed said he went to speak with corporation’s chairman Henry Awong on Tuesday. However, Mohammed said Awong’s secretary told him that Awong was out of the office and that vendors would not be allowed to use the car park.
“I don’t know since when the secretary giving orders,” he said. Mohammed said doubles vendors were willing to pay rent for places in the car park. Mohammed said he wanted to know why some vendors were being favoured to use the car park. Awong did not return any calls to the T&T Guardian or respond to text messages sent to his cellphone.