Charity area stinks and has become a wild west

Dear Editor,

We the residents of Charity need urgent help and government’s intervention. I wish to bring to your attention a situation which continues to be a major problem for the residents of Charity, Pomeroon, Region Two. 

There appears to be complete neglect of the area by the NCD and other officials who were recently elected into office. The area is filthy and stinks; it has become overrun with vendors and illegal business operators.

This did not start last year, it has been around for years, but now it has gotten even worse.

We the residents of the area demand that government via the Ministry of Local Government or other agency urgently visit the Charity area to see the state of neglect and the volume of filth that has overtaken our area.

The main cause of this problem is from the vendors who have shown contempt for all the rules and regulations and continue to sell on the roadway despite being in possession of stalls in the market.

These stalls are being used mainly as bonds and vending continues like a Wild West situation on the roadways.

Many vendors have covered over the main drainage trench in the area.

This trench is a drainage and a reservoir and has not been cleaned in 25 years. The vending situation has prevented this.

As a result, residences of Charity are regularly flooded, so much now that some people are saying their buildings are sinking.

The vendors have also become so brazen that they have taken over the river defence and built over areas necessary for the protection from the river; this during the last spring tide lead to serious flooding and the sea defence team was unable to also access the area. If we allow this to continue Charity may become washed away.

In addition to the vendors the lawlessness extends to some of the businesses in the area, one proprietor is particular has covered more than 200 feet of the trench and uses it to market his goods.

As if this was not enough, he uses the parking lot to also sell and display his goods.

Editor, the entire area has become a Wild West operation and we are frustrated. The vendors, some who also live in their stalls have no sanitation facilities and they just do their “business” outdoors; the cool-down carts openly sell beer and hard liquor to all, including school-aged children. The snackettes and drink stalls also engage in selling school-aged children alcohol. None of these stalls have a GRA licence to sell liquor.

When the GRA people come to check, they close up shop until the GRA leaves.

We are calling on government to urgently address this plight for us the residents of Charity. We would like to see a clean-up campaign similar to what took place in Georgetown and we would like order to be brought to the area.

Editor, we also invite you to send a seasoned reporter to see the lawlessness that is taking pace.

Sincerely,

Concerned resident