Durban – Residents living in Newlands East have had to put up with the stench of raw sewage wafting through their homes for the last three weeks.
Community activist Lawrence Palmer said an overflowing drain had led to a massive puddle forming at Thrasher Park and Pufaro Grounds.
“The stench has reached into the people’s houses and is causing serious health problems. The stream is full of human waste due to no action taken by Department of Water and Sanitation. All we have received is a reference number and failed promises,” Palmer said.
Palmer said residents were also fighting off mosquito and fly infestations.
"This is a matter of great concern. People are battling to sleep at night because of this infestation. The municipality only attends to matters when residents take their concerns to the media. We also have a contaminated steam that runs across our park coming from another area and it has a great unbearable stench which affects the entire area and requires urgent attention from environmental health,” Palmer said.
He said in some areas, stormwater drains were blocked.
“These blocked drains have become a shelter for the mosquitoes in our neighbourhood and our roads are always wet with pools of water which nobody cares about,” he said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said the city had prioritised the matter.
“As a result, a team that has all the necessary equipment to attend to this matter is being mobilised. We sincerely apologise to residents for the inconvenience that this caused,” he said.
Mayisela appealed to residents to ensure that they do not dispose of alien objects (nappies, food, dirt etc) into the city’s sanitation system.
“These are major causes of the system to clog. It should be noted that it is not for the first time we have attended to this matter,” he said.
IOL