CASHEW Gardens 2 or (Central), Carlsen Field, Couva has been highlighted recently because of complaints residents have been making over 15 years about sinking and cracked houses caused by an incomplete drain on Edinburgh Road.
While that issue remains unresolved and residents continue to ask for help from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Cashew Gardens North, a newer development, is facing similar and different challenges.
Residents and president of the Cashew Gardens Home Owners Association Christopher McCollins say the situation has passed the crisis stage.
Speaking to Newsday on July 19, McCollins said, "There are no street lights in many areas. The base for the lights is there, but because the contractor has not received payment, no lights were installed.
"When people come to see what they got after completing their financials with TTMF (Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company), they are welcomed to a building overgrown with grass, rotten roofs, unconnected water lines and sewage pipes that are broken off.
"Residents were told that it is their responsibility to cut the grass in front of it before moving in.
"There is also an NGC (National Gas Company) line going down the full length of the community. There are units still to be built close to it.
"But the major concern is an incomplete drain that has been causing havoc. Because of that drain, it is continuously flooding.
"Last time HDC rented three pumps to clear the drainage. They said because of the cost they can't keep it on site."
McCollins said approximately six or seven townhouses and four single units in Zone 5 of Cashew Gardens North face floodwaters in their home every time it rains heavily. In total, approximately 30 families are stranded when floodwater rises.
[caption id="attachment_908013" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Residents of Cashew Gardens North are worried about the lack of streetlights in several areas within the development. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
McCollins said, "As soon as residents realise that it is raining continuously, they warn others who are not at home of the impending danger."
Although the roads need repair, residents are choosing their battles and focusing on the immediate needs.
"Before we continue about the flooding, what really caught our attention this time was the blatant disregard for homeowners. People are receiving homes with rotten roofs and ceilings.
"What they (HDC) did was painted over the rot. But in a couple of units, the hole was so big that they could not paint over them. That is disconcerting and they are doing it continuously.
"We have had conversations with Mr Noel Garcia (HDC chairman) among many others. Even those issues highlighted in the Newsday from Cashew Gardens Central (2) were already brought to the attention of HDC."
On abandoned homes, he said, "The homes are not abandoned, they are allocated, but they are not doing upkeep and maintenance.
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