OTTAWA RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT THE FILTH, RUBBISH, LITTER AND DIRT THAT HAVE ENGULFED THE LOCAL OTTAWA RIVER AND SURROUNDING AREAS

By Subry Govender The recent heavy rains have not only brought a great deal of relief for those affected by droughts and lack of water, but at the same time the accompanying floods and storms have also caused a great deal of damage to the rivers and the environment. One of the areas severely affected by the floods is the Umhlanga River that flows through the village of Ottawa, situated between the towns of Mount Edgecombe and Verulam on the North Coast.

Some community members, belonging to the Ottawa Environment Forum, carried out an inspection-in-loco of the river on Sunday (Nov 24) in an attempt to clean up the litter that has engulfed the river. They mainly concentrated on an area near the Ottawa motor and rail bridges. The officials found tons of plastic bottles, paper bags, all kinds of dirt and filth strewn under the railway and motor car bridges and along the river for kilometres on end. The officials started to pick some of the litter and collected them into bags for about two hours. But the operation was just too much for a few dedicated officials. They have now decided to utilise some of their time every Sunday in an attempt to clean up the river, the main road running through the town and the surrounding residential roads.

One of the officials of the Ottawa Environmental Forum, Ms Andisha Maharaj, said it was a major tragedy that there was so much of litter and filth in the river and the surrounding areas. “It seems the municipality and the Government’s Department of Environmental Affairs must start educating people living upstream along the river not to throw their rubbish into the river,” she said. “We have a serious environmental problem on our hands and all of us must do our bit to clean up the river and the surrounding areas in Ottawa. “This river, at one time, was the lifeblood for the residents but now it has been totally destroyed through reckless and senseless dumping of rubbish and filth. It seems some people don’t have any conscience at all.”

Another official said the environment had degenerated to such an extent that they had decided to embark on a continuous clean up programme of the Ottawa River and surrounding areas. “We have decided that the clean up programme must be on-going and that we would employ people to clean up the river. We would seek the assistance of business and other concerned residents to make donations towards the cost of employing unemployed people to help in the clean-up of the river and surrounding areas.” The local residents say they have taken up the cudgels themselves to clean up the river and the environment because they believe in a clean and friendly environment. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com