Could this be right?
Dear Editor,
How could the Jamaica Railway Corporation have planned to remove the railway turntable in Port Antonio and cut it up for scrap as a fund-raising initiative? This is beyond belief! At a time when the Jamaica Heritage Trust is sending out urgent messages about the theft of heritage cannons from various locations, it is hard to comprehend that agents of government would openly take away Portland’s heritage and sell the leavings for a few dollars. It can’t be right!
As an author of a book on Portland’s history I can tell you that this turntable, one of the few still remaining in the Caribbean, is of great significance to my friends in the parish. Moreover, I understand that plans have been under way for some time to restore the turntable and use it as a centrepiece for a heritage park and tourist information office.
Where oh where is the Minister of Tourism on this matter? Who is sanctioning the destruction of Portland’s heritage?
Ken Roueche
British Columbia, Canada
kroueche@shaw.ca