Students falling in raw sewage

Students, police personnel, pedestrians and business operators in a section of downtown Kingston have been forced to exist in the raising stench of raw sewage spewing from manholes onto the road in the Denham Town community in Kingston.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Alfred McDonald, who is in charge for police operations in the Kingston west division, told THE STAR that the police attached to the Denham Town Police Station have been receiving daily complaints from residents about the sewage on the road.

"Every day for the last two weeks, we have gotten reports about someone falling in the sewage on the road or someone getting splashed from a vehicle," McDonald said.

Toughest divisions

The senior lawman said that his workers have complained about the raw sewage which sits a few metres from the doorsteps of the station.

"They have complained but we encourage them because we are not going to stop from work because of this. After all, we are policing one of the toughest divisions in the country," said McDonald.

Eugenie Brown, principal of the Denham Town Primary School, said that her students have become so accustomed to the filthy conditions that when they fall in the sewage water these days, they no longer make reports to her or teachers at the school.

"This has been going for a very long time. The children have become accustomed to it that if they fall in the water they would just wash themselves off and continue. This should not be because it is not good for their health," Brown said.

The National Water Commission (NWC) which has responsibility for the sewer main, said it won't be able to rectify the problem anytime soon.

"The manager for waste water says that it's a problem that they have been battling for some time and it is something that he expects will continue," Charles Buchanan, the communication head at the NWC, told THE STAR.

Buchanan said that it is expected that there will be sporadic incidents because of the nature of the build up of solid waste and other debris in the sewer main, which results in frequent blockages and overflow.