By Vanessa Braithwaite

THE Linden Mayor and Town Council (LMTC) is calling on the relevant authorities to address, as a matter of urgency, the impassable state of the Kara Kara dumpsite access road. The call comes in the wake of a recent outbreak of gastro-enteritis in the municipality, and though no definitive reason has been given for the flare-up, recently retired CEO of the Linden Hospital Complex, Dr. Farouk Ryasat, says it may have been caused by contaminated water.
Whatever the origin of the outbreak, the hospital saw a spiral in cases of the infection, especially in children and babies. With most of the cases being from in and around the Wismar shoreline, paediatrician, Dr. Shemika Hector, is advising residents in the neighbourhood to boil their water so as to make it safer for consumption, rather than just adding chlorine and hoping for the best.
NO ALTERNATIVE
The situation with access to the Kara Kara dumpsite leaves the Council no alternative but to use the one near Dakoura Creek, even though the facility has been deemed an environmental and health hazard. This is because the creek is a primary source of water for Wismar residents.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had, some time ago, ordered the LMTC to close the Dakoura dumpsite because of residents’ fears of the water table being contaminated through leaching.
Back in July, the municipality had reported that the Ministry of Communities had committed to repairing the access road to the Kara Kara dumpsite, so as to allow for the discontinuation of dumping at Dakoura. But to date, the road has not been done.
According to Chairman of the Environmental Committee, Wainwright Betune, the ministry did start the process of having the road repaired, but no actual work has commenced.
“I think they did some testing of the materials that they wanted to compact the road with, and that is the last I heard of it,” Betune said, adding:
“The road was an estimated $18M; and they had the contractors who were bidding come and look at it… And that was the last I heard.”
HARSH REALITY
He readily agreed that dumping at the Dakoura site is unhealthy, but said that the harsh reality is: “There isn’t anywhere else to dump in this inclement weather.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, who recently made a public call for the access road to be repaired as soon as possible.

This would have been a priority for the Council, but given that it is cash-strapped, there is very little that can be done.
The municipality continues to face challenges as it relates to garbage collection and disposal, with limited trucks and equipment to do so effectively.
Several residents are forced to pay a private company $1600 monthly for weekly garbage collection.
Mayor Holland stressed that the situation is depressing, knowing that the residents cannot be served effectively.
“We are basically handicapped; we are limped when it comes to garbage collection. And we don’t have a compactor truck to assist and aid in the pickup of garbage. We need to have such facilities to be able to better serve our Linden community,” Holland said.