FIERY early morning protests and roadblocks caused massive traffic pile-ups at Perseverance Road, Chandernagore Village, Chaguanas yesterday.

Police and fire services personnel were called out at sunrise to subdue angry villagers who blocked the roads and set fire to debris, that included branches, tree trunks and tyres to protest bad road conditions.

Protestors appealed to Prime Minister Patrick Manning for help. They said: " If Manning represented us, I am sure we would have no problem with roads and water." Placards held up by children and adults read:

"We want to be like San Fernando East. Help us Mr Manning. We are citizens too", "Our Children are in danger, no pavement..." "Fix we roads now".

Manning is the MP for San Fernando East. Villager Roy Saroop said:

"We are angry over the national neglect of the area. The road has not been repaired for many years and were filled with potholes. When the Ministry heard the villagers intended to protest they filled the holes with yellow boulders that turn to mud in rain. But the problem is much more than that."

The Perseverance Road serves as a main link from Chaguanas to Waterloo and eases much of the traffic on the Chaguanas Main Road.

Residents said they have been calling for sidewalks for pedestrians, including school children, for the longest while, "but nobody is taking us on. They have open box drains that could endanger the lives of the children while they walk to school."

Ranjit Ramnarine, councillor and chairman of the Couva/Talparo/Tabaquite Regional Corporation said two years ago, he wrote to the Minister of Works and Director of Highways Division but had received no response. Officials of the Ministry of Works said they had not completed road repairs and would continue with paving soon.

(Trinidad Express)