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La Brea Fisherfolk Association president Alvin La Borde is requesting the urgent removal of mounds of garbage which have been washing up on the beaches following heavy rainfall over the past few days.
The garbage, now mixed with the decaying fish carcases, has created a health hazard, La Borde said, as he urged the authorities to act with haste.
“This has been happening in the community of La Brea every time the rainy season sets in because the coastline is shaped like a sort of basin, from Pt Sable beach to Carat Shed beach going to Coffee Beach to Market Beach and Station Beach. It will capture a lot of the garbage coming out of the different major watercourses in the Gulf of Paria,” he said.
The garbage, which included appliances, plastic bottles, branches, even a water cooler, began washing up following torrential showers on Sunday. If the rubbish is not removed, La Borde said the beaches will become a breeding site for mosquitoes.
He recalled that the Siparia Regional Corporation used to send a team three times a week to clean the beaches and CEPEP also used to send a crew to clean the beaches.
“I am calling on those in charge to set up a crew to clean the beaches on a regular basis because once it rains this is going to happen. If the garbage is not removed it is going to cause a lot of sicknesses,” he said.
La Borde said he informed the corporation, Disaster Preparedness and Management Team, MP Nicole Olivierre, Environmental Management Authority and the Health Ministry about the situation, but nothing has been done.
Corporation chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said the situation is engaging the corporation’s urgent attention and they are contacting the various agencies to effect a response.