00:00Nestled between three constituencies, St. Anne's East, St. Augustine and Aruca, is a town called
00:22Tunapuna, brimming with vibrant culture, rich history and a lively community. Located in the
00:28east-west corridor of Trinidad. As you wander through the bustling streets you
00:40will encounter a delightful blend of old and new. But what does Tunapuna really means to
00:46the people located in the east-west corridor? Basically everything. Tunapuna is home. It's
00:54always been home, you know, since I moved here about 10 years ago. Tunapuna is my stomping
01:03ground for shopping all the time since I was small with my mom coming here to the Tunapuna area.
01:09Of all the Pennywise, I love the Tunapuna Pennywise. But like any other community throughout Trinidad,
01:14Tunapuna faces spikes and spells in serious criminal activities. Some residents say the influx of
01:20outsiders may have been a contributing factor. But Tunapuna, in fact, faced high crime rates well before.
01:27Crime. That's one thing. Because I'm from Puna and I'll be home and I'll be here in
01:32gunshots. You know, for no apparent reason and it's ridiculous. I have a little one going up so
01:39it's scary. We need more police presence. You know, the crime is affecting a lot of people.
01:44Sometimes even the flooding right now. When rain falls, Tunapuna does flood a lot. So we probably
01:50need to fix that flooding and a little more crime reduction in the area. And it's also been one
01:56year since the Eagle Eye project was launched, which has been working to help deter and detect crime.
02:01And so far, the project has been useful. So says President of the Tunapuna Police Community Council,
02:07Neil Boodoo Singh. Yes, we we have passed the year threshold and data would show that the tool
02:16Eagle Eye has been working and solving more crime with it. And what we have realized is that the element
02:25of home invasions and all these hold ups and so on are coming out of Tunapuna. Don't mind that Tunapuna
02:32is still a hotspot, like every part of the country. You know, we are not different anywhere it's
02:39happening, but we are doing something as a community against crime. Another problem commuters and
02:46businesses face in Tunapuna is traffic and the lack of parking spaces. Traffic here. I think it's
02:54difficult for people to navigate sometimes trying to cross the road. So obviously we are faced with
03:00problems of parking and traffic. We get our own. But the good thing is, is that we have a lot of
03:06tributary streets, side streets that they utilize made into one ways, divert traffic, the busy times
03:13from, you know, certain hours, the main road would be a one way. So we do things. Other than that,
03:19we make recommendations. In 2010, the COP won the Tunapuna seat with Winston Dukaran. Fast forward to
03:26five years later, Esmond Ford for the PNM snatched the seats from Mr Dukaran with over 11,000 votes.
03:33And with just over 20,000 constituents able to vote on April 28th, what will be the fate of the PNM
03:40party? As a new political party, the NTA is now in the race for the Tunapuna seat. But what do constituents
03:46think? It's always good to have change. You know, it's always good to, and he is our role model. Let's
03:54say he is our role model from since, you know, and it's always good for the change. So I'm not saying no,
04:00it's when the people vote. Do you vote? I do, however, I have stopped since the last two elections.
04:07Why? Um, I don't see anybody to vote for, really, in terms of either side of the divide. I would
04:16definitely vote for a change, however, um, just have an idea how the politics are run in the country.
04:24It would basically be splitting the votes, and because the seats are so marginalized, I believe the
04:31PNM would become victorious either way. But it would be nice for change, and I think we should
04:38honestly give some of the newcomers an opportunity, if nothing else, to have a difference in opposition
04:47and thinking and thoughts.
04:48I'm sorry.
04:55Shala Kistu, TV6 News.
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