By Charminae George
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Gutters behind the West Bus Station and the Fish Market were cleaned and flushed during a cleaning exercise held yesterday.
The activity — which was a collaboration between the St John’s Development Corporation (SJDC), the Central Board of Health and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) — came after a walkthrough done on Tuesday.
According to Saiid Greene, Director of City and Urban Renewal at the SJDC, Wednesday’s cleanup is the first stage of restorative efforts in St John’s. It also comes ahead of the Sir VC Bird Day celebrations on December 11.
“We have hauled away a lot of debris and a lot of stuff that was here at the market. This is long overdue and this is ahead of the VC Bird celebrations,” Greene told the Observer.
According to Marc Southwell, Senior Beautification Inspector at National Solid Waste Management NSWMA, debris cleared from the gutters included loose litter such as bottles, and fish pot wires abandoned by fishermen.
He added that the clearing exercise is essential as it reduces health hazards resulting from the debris.
“Because of all the debris that is sitting there, there’s a lot of rodents and centipedes within. You find a lot of sharp bottles, a lot of steel and those kinds of items are dangerous,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Greene said that the next areas of focus in the coming days will be the maintenance of the VC Bird Bust and the repair and marking of the roadway surrounding the monument.
He added that repair along major streets in St John’s, including Redcliffe Street, High Street and Newgate Street will soon commence after the areas surrounding Sir VC Bird monument are completed, with significant progress scheduled to be made by February 2024.
