Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) Regional Chairperson, Vilma De Silva will be working assiduously in the coming week to address the alarming reports of garbage disposal in the Pomeroon River.
The issue of garbage disposal was raised at a recent statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) at the Anna Regina boardroom.
She related that there are numerous complaints about the unlawful dumping of garbage in the Pomeroon River.
“I will not tolerate such a practice under my stewardship. I am a person who is passionate about eco-tourism, and it is quite distressing to see that residents and vendors in the Charity area are indiscriminately dumping their waste into the Pomeroon River,” De Silva said.
It was reported that this is a regular practice by residents and vendors at Charity.
Sometime back in March, De Silva called for hire car and minibus drivers to ensure that they carry a black bag in their vehicle so that passengers can properly dispose of their garbage.
“Essequibo is known to be one of the cleanest regions in Guyana and we want to maintain its good name, so I’m calling on all Essequibians to uphold that good name and practice proper garbage disposal and other good hygiene,” De Silva said at the statutory meeting.
The regional official, however, urged the general public to fully utilise the dumpsites that are available in Lima and Charity. Proper waste disposal improves air and water quality as well as reduces greenhouse gas emissions, she told the RDC.
On this note, she promised to engage the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to speedily address the situation. She also threatened to punish those found culpable.
Meanwhile, a captain who operates a boat service along the river, said that vendors and businessmen in Pomeroon and Charity are carelessly dumping their garbage in the waterways. He added that this act imposes negative effects on people, the surroundings, and also marine lives.
“Plastic bags, food boxes, bottles, and other unwanted wastes are dumped into the river… Although persons know it’s not right and can pave a grave danger to boat operators utilising the waterways, yet they continue to dump their garbage into the water,” the boat captain lamented.
Meanwhile, Otham Smith, a resident of Charity stated that plastic bags can severely affect operators of outboard engines, and can cause serious accidents and the concomitant loss of innocent lives.
Smith added that the debris can harm physical habitats, transport chemical pollutants, and threaten aquatic lives, while further interfering with human uses of the river, marine life, and coastal environment.
“Dumping garbage into the Pomeroon River will ruin the beautiful surrounding of Charity and the good name of Essequibo… So I think that people should desist from throwing their unwanted waste into the river and let Essequibo remain as the cleanest region in Guyana,” Smith said.
Dumping garbage into the river causes oceanic pollution and can lead to the death of marine life.
