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Arima Mayor Balliram Maharaj. - File photoARIMA Mayor Balliram Maharaj says his borough was suffering from a lack of funds, which was why the Borough Day celebrations had some missing elements this year.
He said the Borough Corporation was owing about $350,000 for last August’s celebrations and the Independence Day fireworks.
“Because everything costs money now, we are limited. We can not give Arima what it deserves. It’s not the fault of the old government or the new one. We just fell in the transition period where the new government will want to settle down and check the accounts, and we in the middle of that.”
He said this year was the first time in a while the Borough Day celebrations did not include a military parade, as it costs about $250,000 to organise, as do fireworks. And since credit is not available to them, he was unsure if there would be a fireworks display this year.
“It’s embarrassing. It’s a disappointment for the councillors, the mayor and everybody, but our hands are tied. And we can’t go forward because nobody will give us credit on credit. But we are trying our best.”
He said as the mayor of Arima he was supposed to bring added value to the area, but he did not even have an official office or social welfare office. He said Arima and its inhabitants had a proud history and it needed money to bring it back to the way it used to be.
Expressing his pride in the borough, Maharaj recalled people from all over the world used to visit Arima for the horserace track, Emancipation Day celebrations, Asa Wright Nature Centre and its Borough Day celebrations. It also produced several sports and cultural figures.
He said Borough Day celebrations was a tradition that had been passed down though generations. Over the years it has been “the mecca” of the First People, steelband, parang, horse- and car racing, so its residents should be proud. He said even though Arima was no longer “a big family” as it once was, there was still a lot of love among the area.
Some of the most popular aspects of the celebration were the Santa Rosa harvest and festival, a collaboration between the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church and First People, and the parang festival, both to be held on August 24.
The Borough Day parade of the bands was on August 9 through the streets of Arima. It was scheduled to start at 2 pm but, according to Maharaj, the masqueraders preferred to come out later when it was cooler.
Another activity was the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and Borough Corporation Back to School Charitable Football match which took place on August 8. Maharaj described the event as well-attended, exciting and well-received.
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