Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath, visited the monastery with some of his government colleagues to address a long-standing electricity supply issue affecting the compound.

For the past two years, overgrown trees have placed significant strain on nearby power lines, resulting in electrical faults and outages that disrupted the monastery’s daily operations, a release from the Public Utilities Ministry on Monday stated.

During his visit, Padarath emphasised that the ministry’s engagement was driven by genuine respect for the monastery’s heritage and national importance, describing it as one of the country’s most iconic places of worship.

He added that, in addition to resolving the electricity problem, government was prepared to explore other ways it could assist the monastery in preserving its operations and legacy.

Abbot John Pereira, in his response to Padarath noted the monastery’s longstanding tradition of openness to people of all ethnicities and religious persuasions since its establishment in 1912.

The minister and his team toured the compound to view the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s (T&TEC) ongoing work, which involves clearing vegetation from the affected lines to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply.

Also present were Minister of Homeland Security and Member of Parliament for Tunapuna Roger Alexander, Minister in the Ministry of Public Utilities Clyde Elder, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Public Utilities Shivanna Sam, Chairman of T&TEC Anil Kamal, General Manager of T&TEC Chrisalston Belle and Area Manager of T&TEC Kendel Francis.