WITH THE beginning of the school term for students a day away, one resident of Robinson Close has fears for the health of children attending St Stephen’s Primary School, as the stench from Roger’s Quarry continues to fill the air.
And while Janice Ward is pleased that trucks have stopped dumping their cargo of molasses sludge in the abandoned quarry in Robinson’s Close, St Stephen’s Hill, St Michael, she is convinced that residents should not ease the pressure on the authorities.
“There is a reservoir right next to all of this nonsense that is going on and St Stephen’s School is just down the hill. What is going to happen to these children when they go back into school on Tuesday?” she queried.
Hours after a Ministry of Health team led by Minister John Boyce visited the area early last week, the man behind the dumping was slapped with a stop order preventing him from committing any further acts in the area.
Ward admitted she had not heard any of the molasses trucks disposing of their cargo since that day, but those bearing skips continued to come and go as normal, even though, she added, she did not know if those trucks continued to dump their refuse in the area.
She, however, wondered what was going to be done about the three large ponds of molasses which remained.
“What is the next step? What is going to happen to the sea of molasses that is there, because we have had issues with dumping for a while. It certainly intensified when the tipping fee was put in place and we complained and we called,” she told the Daily Nation.
The resident of the cul-de-sac stressed that her neighbours needed to keep the issues in the limelight.
“. . . It is okay to stop but what is the next step? Are we going to leave it down there? We still have the issue with the flies and rats and atrocious smell. It’s gotta be bothering everybody,” she declared.