Minister Jearlean John Visits Piparo To Assess Mud Volcano Damage
Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John visited Piparo on Wednesday morning.
She was accompanied by technical experts from the Ministry’s Highways Division as they reviewed ongoing works following increased activity at the mud volcano in the area on Christmas Eve.
The Minister first visited the community on Christmas Day, shortly after the incident.
During Wednesday’s visit, she was joined by Member of Parliament for Princes Town Dr. Aiyna Ali, Chairman of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Ryan Rampersad, and Chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation Gowrie Roopnarine.
The group met with residents to hear concerns and discuss the next steps.
As a result of the damage caused by the volcano’s increased activity, the Ministry’s Highways Division has undertaken emergency road repairs to restore partial access, while technical teams continue to assess site conditions and plan longer-term solutions.
The Minister and her team also inspected the temporary Bailey bridge at the one-kilometre mark along Piparo Road, where discussions focused on improving stability and clearing overgrown vegetation.
She told residents that her Ministry is doing the best it can at the moment, keeping in mind the mud volcano is still unpredictable.
« Although the residents are asking for complete restoration, we can’t chance it because just looking at this, THIS job as it is here will be about $20 million. It might look small, but it is significant engineering that will have to go on here. We can’t commit to that kind of money until we know what is happening, so we are really trying and we are using a lot of in-house resources. »
