Defence Minister Wayne Sturge has confirmed that this year’s Independence Day Parade will proceed as planned despite a series of bomb threats that placed security agencies across Trinidad and Tobago on high alert on Wednesday.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS) responded to 11 bomb threats across the country, including threats targeting eight magistrates’ courts from Sangre Grande to Point Fortin, Valpark Plaza, the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government in Port-of-Spain, and the Judicial Complex in Bacolet, Tobago.

The threats were received between 1 pm and 1.40 pm and triggered an immediate emergency response from both agencies.

Asked yesterday whether the parade would still take place in light of the incidents and the ongoing State of Emergency, Sturge replied: “Yes.”

The minister also dismissed concerns that the relocation of this year’s parade to the northern end of the Queen’s Park Savannah could damage the environmentally sensitive area.

The event is being moved from its traditional location at the Grand Stand on the southern side of the Savannah to a new site facing President’s House.

However, the move has sparked concerns about the impact of the works on the Savannah, including claims that a major natural aquifer lies beneath the area and could be affected.

Asked specifically about concerns regarding infrastructural damage and the potential impact on the aquifer, Sturge said simply: “They needn’t worry.”

He was also asked whether the paved area being created for the parade would be removed after the Independence Day celebrations.

“Yes,” he responded.

Lee Sing voices opposition

Former Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing, however, has strongly criticised the decision.

Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Lee Sing described the relocation as unacceptable, arguing that the Savannah is one of the last major green spaces remaining in the capital city.