Pranz
Gardens residents protest port plan
PORT SPAIN
Petroleumworldtt.com
02 17 08
Several residents of Pranz Gardens, Claxton Bay,
are calling on the National Energy Corporation
to stop the construction of a port in the area
which is to be used by ESSAR Steel.
A group of residents led by Sahadeo Pooran, chairman
of the Pranz Gardens Development Association, last
week protested in front of the NEC's offices at
Rivulet Road, Couva, calling on the company to
scrap the project.
Pooran said the NEC plans will destroy a large
portion of the mangrove in the area in which the
port will be built.
He said a delegation from Pranz Gardens met officials
of the NEC but they have not been assured that
there will be no damage to the environment and
marine life.
"We do not want them to destroy the mangrove
which took 100 years to grow," Pooran said.
He said the construction of the mill will affect
the lives of six communities close to the area
earmarked for the development of the steel mill.
NEC president Prakash Saith said the company met
the protestors on two occasions in nearby California
and outlined to them the proposals for the development
of the area.
Saith said: "We have no intention of destroying
the mangrove. A small portion near the mangrove
site will be used for reclamation." He said
as far as the port was concerned nothing was final.
Story
by Louis
B Homer from Trinidad Express, South Bureau
Trinidad
Express
Monday,
February 11th 2008
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