…large beehives stalling cleanup efforts – Solid waste Director
Months after the area was cleared, garbage has once again piled up in the heart of the city at Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, opposite St Sidwell’s Primary School, which has now turned into a small dump site. The Director of Solid Waste Management at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has stated that steps will be taken to resolve the issue within a week.
The issue was addressed and cleaned up by the M&CC, but recently the area has once again returned to its unsightly state.
Speaking with this publication, Director Walter Narine said that the delay in the removal of the garbage and debris is due to several beehives in the area.
Director of Solid Waste Management at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC)
“What happened is the situation can be addressed, but there are actually a few beehives. When we had the last National Enhancement Activity, attempts were made with excavators and other heavy-duty equipment to remove the debris. We had to rush the operator and two staff members to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) because they got stung by bees. So, any heavy-duty equipment that goes there excites the bees.”
This has led to the workers being severely injured and rushed to the hospital for medical assistance, according to him once these are still on the site, the workers cannot clean up due to the fact that the commotion from the vehicles would rile up the bees.
Amidst this, he reiterated that there is no reason for people to be dumping garbage on the land.
The area at Vlissengen Road filled with debris and garbage
“But I don’t understand how these people are going down there. They are coming with horse carts, dumping garbage—someone is dumping this garbage. The problem is I don’t know how many hives there are, so we have to examine the area and then create an invoice. I will try my best to get this done within the next week.”
Meanwhile, while speaking with Reginald Brotherson, Priest Warden of St Sidwell’s, he explained that this ongoing issue has been a persistent problem for some time. He noted that individuals are disposing of waste in the early hours of the morning, creating an unsightly mess near the church and a nearby school.
“It is like literally every day, in the wee hours of the night, when persons are not looking, people just turn up and dump rubbish in vehicles, in bags, off motorcycles— all manner of things happening outside of the church. It’s very unsightly and unhygienic, and even if we look around, the St Sidwell’s Primary School is just over the road. It also affects the schoolchildren.”
Brotherson also advocated for the provision of a notice board with contact numbers for individuals to report such activities to the necessary officials.
He also added that the proximity of the school causes a pungent smell at times, with the vast number of debris affecting the students.
To top it off, he mentioned that people are also lighting fires to destroy the garbage.
“The smoke will affect the school, just next door, there’s also a nursery school. And I’ve been advocating for quite some time that we put up a board with numbers that people can call when they see individuals engaging in such behaviour, so that we can WhatsApp photographs of them. When they are caught, they should be passed through the courts, and the courts should award community service…We need to name and shame these individuals. We have to stop this nonsense happening outside of here.”
Nearby the debris, there is also a triangular area of land covered with bush, where additional debris is accumulating. He suggested the provision of a fence around that area.
“It would be an excellent project if some organisation or the Government could just fence this triangle with a small picket fence and beautify it. This could be a place where the children…could have recreation.”
