00:00One of the things that concern me, for example, in Bloody Bay, my district, where there is this tank farm
00:09that was done by WASA recently.
00:11It's fenced in, it's with barbed wire, but the gate is never locked, was never locked.
00:17And so I've asked WASA to take another look at the security measures.
00:21Chief Secretary Farley Augustine spoke with the media following Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day observances in Tobago.
00:30We have to secure our infrastructure where water and electricity is concerned, because those could be easy ways to cripple
00:39a society and to damage an economy.
00:42Augustine says stronger penalties may be needed to deter acts of vandalism against critical infrastructure.
00:49Echoing calls from Minister of Public Utilities, Barry Pradarat.
00:55What are you going to do? Lock somebody up and then fine them, what, $100, $150?
01:00That seemed like a waste of police time, you know.
01:03And so increasing the fines for vandalism, I think, is something no one can really argue with.
01:10Meanwhile, the Water and Sewerage Authority says three key facilities affected by the attacks are now back in operation.
01:18Honorsville Well No. 4, Backlet Well No. 3 and the Claude Noel Highway Well have been repaired and returned to
01:27service.
01:28WASA says the crews worked through the night to restore supply in the shortest possible time.
01:35Repairs at Bloody Bay Well No. 1 are nearing completion, with water quality testing still pending before full service resumes.
01:44Truck-borne water remains available to affected residents.
01:49We have worked practically overnight in restoring electricity to most of the sites.
01:56So the fallout in terms of access to water shouldn't be as grave for many.
02:02Chief Secretary Farley Augustine also renewed calls for a dedicated Tobago Police Unit,
02:08saying incidents like these highlight the need for increased security on the island.
02:14One of the justification for a localized police service is so that there are mundane tasks that we should be
02:22doing ourselves
02:23and we allow the TTPS with the higher order intelligence gathering, much larger crime fighting type of tasks.
02:31But tasks like traffic management, forest rangers, management of the marine park in a police way,
02:40even estate security or estate police, as we call it.
02:44Some of those tasks, I think, should be rightfully with a localized police force and is empowered to take action.
02:50The vandalism, which targeted five wells, wasser wells, occurred between the evening of March 27th and the early hours of
03:00March 28th.
03:02The attacks resulted in an estimated loss of 2.1 million gallons of water per day.
03:08Police investigations are ongoing.
03:11Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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