Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein is appealing to citizens to stop their indiscriminate and illegal dumping as he said this is partly to blame for the devastating floods the nation has experienced over the past week.
Speaking to members of the media at the Cipero River along the Gulf View Link Road yesterday, Hosein said he saw fridges, stoves and mattresses being dumped into watercourses during a tour on Saturday.
“When we were going through San Juan yesterday and El Socorro South noticed people have fridges, stoves, mattresses in abundance blocking up all the rivers and that is what is causing the flooding — I’m not saying that alone, we have low lying areas and we have an abundance of rainfall which caused excessive rain,” Hosein said.
“I am appealing to the citizens of this beautiful country we live in to be more civic-minded—those who are already doing so, I compliment and congratulate them because there are law-abiding citizens in this country—but the ones who are in the minority who are doing it, to cease from doing it, because the public health inspectors, once they catch them they will be charged.”
According to the Litter Act Chapter 30:52 “3 (1) A person who without reasonable excuse—(a) deposits any litter in or on any public place other than— (i) in a receptacle placed for the purpose of collecting it;
or (ii) in or at any approved site; and having deposited any litter otherwise than as prescribed in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a) in or on any public place (whether inadvertently or otherwise) leaves such litter there, is guilty of an offence against this act.”
The act further states that: “(6) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction in the case of an individual to a fine of $4,000 or to imprisonment for six months or in the case of a body corporate to a fine of $8,000.”
Hosein said the Ministry of Works was cleaning and dredging the Cipero River yesterday after a visit on Saturday by himself, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan and San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi.
He said most of the main watercourses fall under the purview of the Ministry of Works and the regional corporations are responsible for the maintenance of small drains and tributaries.
“The corporations have an allocation, a limited allocation and they try to give priority to the important rivers, they did a few and they supposed to start to clean but the rainy season came up on them so...they have to clean to it from early as this week. We are giving them help through the Ministry of Works because most of these rivers belong to the Ministry of Works, it is not corporation rivers, we have the tributaries and the drains, the minor drains, the majority belongs to the Ministry of Works and they are doing the majority of work right now.”
However, he said the works have been delayed as the contractors have to wait for the flood waters to recede.
Hosein also brought Eid greetings to the national community, saying, “To the nation, Eid Mubarak and may Allah continue to bless all of us on this auspicious day, a day of joy and celebration because we have fasted for the entire month 29 days. This month was a guide for the next 11 months of the year, it was not only abstaining from food and drinks but also from jealousy, envy, malice and back-biting, all the negatives.”
