ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, is not pleased with the actions of litter bugs in villages on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), hence his call for such persons to be prosecuted.

During a clean-up exercise on Sunday, he stated; “It is the residents who are doing this, they have made this embankment of the canal, a public garbage heap, and we cannot continue like this, that is why the police and the relevant NDC of the locality are being encouraged to institute criminal charges against those who are littering. It is a criminal offence.”

Minister Nandlall, who was also present during the clean-up on the ECD on Saturday, noted that the garbage eventually ends up in the canal, which blocks the drainage system and causes flooding. At Enterprise village, the minister observed the extent of the garbage situation there. He said garbage receptacles are important at the household level, noting that some will be placed at strategic locations.

“What you are seeing here, obviously, is the height of recklessness, callousness and irresponsibility. They dump this and now these young people volunteering, got to pick up their garbage, that’s not fair, at no level is that fair.

This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and persons are going to be put before the courts for littering, and I hope that the courts will impose appropriate penalties, because that is the only way that we will begin a deterrence against this type of irresponsibility.”

Meanwhile, persons who participated in the clean-up exercise are also calling for an end to littering.

“It would be an ongoing exercise until the community is completely clean, but while we are doing that, we are also going to advise the community that we want them to help we keep this place in the manner that we are going to leave it after we finish, we don’t want them to litter,” said Lokendra Persaud of Enterprise.

“We are here to do a clean-up campaign, to keep our place clean and we are asking everyone to keep this piece [sic], let this stop, we have something, through it in the garbage and let we have a beautiful Guyana,” said Shakila Haniff, another volunteer.

Ayube Mohammed noted that the clean-up effort will continue in the various communities on the East Coast.

“This is a continuous drive, it’s not gonna be a one-off something, it’s gonna be something that is continuous and it has to be maintained by the citizens with assistance from the NDC and other agencies. We are on a push to ensure that our communities are clean and healthy and the environment is conducive to healthy living.”

Minister Nandlall met volunteers at Better Hope, Success, Annandale, Enterprise, and Golden Grove. The clean-up exercise is part of a national clean- up initiative by government. (DPI)