For the past three weeks, residents and vendors of Charity, Pomeroon have been subjected to a pungent, growing pile of garbage just a few steps away from the busiest part of the village.
The stench of the large build-up of waste is almost unbearable to humans and animals have since inhabited the area and made it their personal domain. Almost every day, garbage is dumped at the site, located close to the market, and there are no efforts to clean up the area.
When contacted by Stabroek News, overseer of the Charity/Urasara NDC, Samuel Sooklall said that the garbage will be cleaned up as soon as possible.
“We have to get a front-end loader and a truck to clean up the garbage and this will be done very soon. The Puran Brothers are still working along with us to clean up the area but because of the holiday season we had a delay. We are aware that the garbage is excessive but we will work diligently to clean up the area,” he said.
One disgruntled resident who opted to remain anonymous declared that the issue should be addressed urgently.
“I have been living here for most of my life and you would think that things would get better. Instead, everything is getting worse in Charity. It has been almost three weeks since the (pile) of garbage has been sitting there and nothing is being done to clean up the area. The community of Charity is an active one. It is the main port for persons coming from the riverain areas and also a stopping point for persons from along the Coast,” the resident asserted.
12The man said that complaints were made to the Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Council (NDC) on several occasions but still no action has been taken.
“The other day when they had the big countrywide clean-up campaign, I thought that we would be seeing less garbage in Charity but I was mistaken. When I asked about why only three bins were placed at the market area, I was told that the amount was enough. If you take a look at the area you will clearly see that three bins are not enough. When the bins overflow, persons feel free to dump their waste outside of the bins. They cannot be blamed since these three small bins are never emptied,” the resident said.
“At one point in time, the Puran Brothers Disposal Inc were responsible for clearing the garbage but I was told that this isn’t done anymore. One would think that the area where the bins were placed is really the garbage site and that the garbage is brought from other place and dumped there to be burned. However, can you believe that the area where the bins are, is not the final dumping site? The entire market front area is garbage infested which is a health hazard for all residents of the area. You cannot attempt to pass the garbage without holding your breath. What is being done to solve this problem? I truly hope that something can be done and soon or we might never survive the side effects of this terrible infestation of garbage,” the resident declared.
