PUBLIC Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales disclosed on Saturday morning that not one, but two sinister attempts had been made to sabotage the newly commissioned Paramin water supply intake.
As the community eagerly awaited the launch of their much-needed water supply, Gonzales said it became evident that something was amiss when the pumps were found burnt out, while the reservoir levels appeared unusually low.
This was discovered after Water and Sewerage Authority workers realised a valve was tampered with.
At the launch of the water supply project, Level 5, La Vigie, Upper Paramin, almost a year after its start, Gonzales told the audience, 'What we are celebrating here ... was sabotaged about two or three days ago. I would not go into the details of the sabotage because, would you believe, when you get an improved water supply it would be to their disadvantage."
But speaking to Sunday Newsday after the launch, the minister revealed someone tampered with the valve after the workers left the site the night before the opening ceremony.
'They came late at night and the valve was open and it allowed the water for the intake to run dry, below the required levels and it caused the pumps to burn out. And the only way for this to happen is for someone to go in. When the WASA workers checked the next day, they realised that someone interfered with the boundary valve and allowed the water to run out.
He said there was a second sabotage attempt hours before the ceremony.
'Then there was another attempt to do it again at a different location where they opened up a discharge line where it wasn't accessible to the public. When we went down to the intake before we went to the site of the official commissioning, we recognised the water was dropping unusually fast so we thought another valve was being interfered with because the water was not supposed to be dropping that fast.
'So, we quietly informed the WASA workers to stop the pump to reduce the extraction rate while we investigate the possible valve tampering and it was located. Not too far from the commissioning site the valve was open out and the water was just flowing. Thousands of gallons were flowing into the bush which caused the levels of intake to drop at an unusual rate.'
Gonzales said his ministry made no reports to the police but is strongly considering setting up a virtual security CCTV camera system to minimise future sabotage.
'People receive water for the very first time and in many instances, people become very emotional when they saw water flowing through the dumps. And as soon as we turn our backs, it was sabotage after sabotage. As a matter of fact, we had some political activists trying to create a narrative the water was unhealthy, or that the Minister of Public Utilities was giving the people untreated water because they cannot stomach when we make progress when we do simple initiatives to improve the living circumstance of the people of TT."
He urged Paramin residents to be alert. 'There are wolves in sheep's clothing, and they w
