00:00 Bari Padarath, the MP for Princes Town, tells us the water problem is a long-standing one
00:06 and protest should not have been what triggered WASA to release a supply to the Williamsville
00:11 community. According to the MP, the Water and Sewage Authority needs to get itself in
00:17 order.
00:18 The area of Williamsville, Hardbarg and Beddowin, they have continuously seen challenges for
00:24 water. This is not the first protest that we have actually held with those residents.
00:29 It's something that happens periodically every couple of months. And I'll tell you where
00:33 it really stems from. It stems from the issue of three main ambits in terms of short-term
00:40 measures that could be addressed by WASA that have fallen on deaf ears for the past couple
00:45 of years in particular.
00:46 MP Padarath tells TV6 that among those issues are dilapidated infrastructure and water scheduling.
00:54 WASA would usually put out a schedule for all communities that don't receive 24/7 supply
00:59 of water. The issue remains whether or not they meet that water scheduling. And in most
01:04 instances it does not occur. So when you ask the Honourable Minister, you ask the Public
01:09 Utilities Ministry about the WASA's water scheduling, you get the standard answer, well,
01:15 they're doing their job. There's a schedule, you follow the schedule. But the crux of the
01:19 matter is that most of the times WASA does not follow the schedule.
01:23 The MP admits that WASA had been carrying out repairs on a main in the area. However,
01:29 he stresses that connectivity remains a major problem as there is still a collapse of infrastructure
01:35 in these communities in terms of WASA pipelines. Noting that if the main is restored but the
01:42 pipelines are still busted, the supply issue continues. Padarath says students and businesses
01:49 are also feeling the pinch.
01:52 And Chotiwa is one of those rural squatting communities. And there are a large number
01:56 of persons living there. I would say there are almost a thousand residents in that particular
02:00 area in Williamsville. Their children have not been able to go to school because there's
02:05 no water for the past couple of months. There has been a decline in commerce in those areas.
02:11 Parts of that area is also a commercial district in terms of steel plants and so on being located
02:17 there. They too have been affected. I've been speaking with the business owners within that
02:21 area and the operations of their businesses have been severely affected.
02:26 Last week, WASA's director of operations told TV6 that the authority has 11 wells and plans
02:33 to develop another 20 wells to assist under-serviced communities. Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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