OTTAWA RESIDENTS DEMAND ACTION AGAINST THE SEWER STINK THEY HAVE TO PUT UP WITH ON A DAILY BASIS

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH - SAY RESIDENTS IN RIVERVIEW ROAD, MUNN ROAD, SCHOOL ROAD AND OTHER AREAS OF OTTAWA AND NEARBY RESIDENTIAL COMPLEXES (One of the community leaders - Charles Govender - making it clear at the meeting that they had had enough of the sewer stink) By Subry Govender "REDUCE OUR RATES" - IS THE CALL TO THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY The residents of Ottawa, near Verulam, on the North Coast in South Africa have decided to intensify their campaigns for a rates reduction following admissions by Ethekweni council officials that they will have to live with the sewer stench problem engulfing the area. They took the decision at a fiery meeting held under the auspices of the Ottawa Environmental Forum at the Ottawa Town Hall last Thursday (Nov 16). The meeting was a follow-up to an emergency meeting that was held at the same venue a fortnight ago after serious sewer odour engulfed Ottawa and the Woodview and other areas of Phoenix. The residents expressed their anger after council officials disclosed at the November 16 meeting that sewer stench emanating from the nearby Phoenix Waste Water Treatment plant will recur during the current upgrading processes of the plant. (Ottawa residents attending one of the recent meetings at the Ottawa Hall) “There will be regular upgrades and maintenance work and during this process, some odour will escape into the atmosphere,” said Ritesh Kandhai, an electrical and mechanical engineer. He told the residents he could not say for how long the residents of Ottawa would have to put with the sewer odour. He said the Phoenix sewer plant was being upgraded to cater for the increase in sewer from nearby Cornubia and the Cornubia Mall. Community leaders and residents said they were fed up and not prepared to accept the current situation. One resident said they would have to resort to stronger actions in order to highlight the failure of the municipality in taking into account that the residents of Ottawa and other residential areas were entitled to “clean and fresh” air. One of the local community leaders, Mr Charles Govender, said it seemed the municipality was not concerned about the health of the residents. “In view of the disclosure now that this odour will not be completely eradicated, we call on the municipality to reduce our rates for as long as we have to live with the stench,” he said. (Another concerned residents speaking out during the recent meetings at the Ottawa Hall)

(THE FACILITATOR OF THE OTTAWA ENVIRNOMENTAL FORUM - MS ANDISHA MAHARAJ - WHO IS LEADING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE DAMAGE BEING CAUSED TO THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT BY THE SEWER STENCH) The facilitator of the Ottawa Environmental Forum, Ms Andisha Maharaj, told the meeting that the current sewer odour problem was a direct result of the failure of the municipality to plan properly. “If any planning was done at a strategic level, then it certainly was not to serve the interests of the people. The decisions taken are bearing down on the lives of residents already in the areas of Cornubia, Ottaawa, Parkgate, Palmview, and Woodview. “The authorities are fully liable for the chaos that have been created in the region,” said Ms Maharaj. In addition to the re-iteration of their demands for a reduction in their rates, the residents have also resolved to pursue their representations to the Human Rights Council(HRC) which has already been informed of the denial of their human rights to “clean, fresh air”. They also resolved to pursue legal processes to enforce their rights to clean air. MONITORING THE STINK In the meanwhile, the residents have appointed three community representatives to work with municipal officials to monitor the ongoing sewer odour emanating from the Phoenix treatment works. The monitoring team municipal officials were seen in Munn Road and Riverview Road in Ottawa on Wednesday, November 22 (2017) talking to residents about the sewer stench. One resident, Mrs Radhika, of Riverview Road said the stink emerged once again on Tuesday (November 21) evening. “This stink is terrible. We were just sitting down to have our evening meal when we got the stink,” she said. “It seems the municipality is taking us for granted. It’s terrible that they don’t care about us.” Mrs Radhika said the sewer dam should be moved to Umhlanga Rocks because the Phoenix Water Treatment Plant was unable to cope with the extra flow of sewer from nearby areas such as Cornubia and Cornubia Mall. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com