Dear Editor,
I would like the relevant authorities to rethink the manner in which they are dealing with the mangrove trees along the river banks, and consider the pros and cons of the present situation in an effort to gain the greater benefit of the citizens who are impacted by the present legal strategy in this regard.
While these trees are supposed to be protecting us from the sea and river waters, we who are living close to this formidable growth are suffering from a number of negative effects which involve not only our comfortable living, but our health as well.
During the whole day and night we cannot receive any cooling breeze, and this is affecting not only our comfort but our health as well, especially during these extremely torrid times. Apart from this, we cannot see the rising of the sun until the late morning, and this impacts not only on our comfort but to some extent our well-being and the use of the sun in our daily activities.
Another disadvantage we will be suffering when the rainy season returns will come from the abominable pests – mosquitoes and sand-flies – which will be teeming in these areas, and causing dire consequences not only by the extreme discomfort they trigger, but by the soreness and even sickness and death, some of which we have witnessed recently by the dengue disease.
Those of us who have lived along these banks in the days before mangroves were seen as the best protection from the river waters, know that sea dams proved just as efficient in this endeavour. In fact, this system was in existence and effective for all the years of our history prior to this.
I am therefore proposing that the authorities change the legal system in this matter, build walls and/or dams to harness the river waters, and rid us of this barrier to our proper comfort and health.
Sincerely,
Roy Paul
