Latest update January 3rd, 2025 4:30 AM
Latest News
- Mohameds drops lawsuit after Sgt. Bascom apologises over murder accusations
- More than 70 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza
- Berbice man drowns at Lake during New Year’s Day outing.
- Motorcycle bandits crash into Hilux to rob driver
- Jagdeo defends 4% interest on US EXIM Bank loan for Gas-to-Energy project
Residents mull protest action over decomposing whale
Residents of Suddie, Essequibo Coast, are feeling the effects of the unwelcome presence
The decomposing whale carcass
of an approximately 57-ft. decomposing sperm whale on their foreshore.
The whale, which washed ashore at Maria’s Lodge, Suddie foreshore on Sunday, has literally brought the village to a standstill due to its nauseating odour and residents are contemplating protest action over the perceived inaction of Regional and Public Health officials.
A female resident who is said to live opposite where the body of the massive mammal now rests, has been forced to take desperate measures to avoid the obnoxious fumes.
The woman, who has a four-year-old grandchild, has been virtually trapped in her own home. She has had to stuff every nook and cranny in her home with cloth, as well as the locking of the doors and windows.
According to the resident, three Hymacs were brought and left in the vicinity of the carcass, with the apparent purpose of digging a hole for its burial.
This the resident described as detrimental, since the whale was too close to the sea dam. In fact, it is the dam that stands in the way of the potential flooding of the village, and even if the Hymacs
One of the three Hymacs parked at the site
could dig up the ground, the water would have free rein within the village during high tide.
According to another disaffected resident, the whale’s stomach was damaged to the point that its intestines are protruding and from this, residents say, the stench emanates.
One resident expressed serious concern for the health of the villagers, noting that as many as six houses are no more than ten feet away from the dead animal.
According to him, the stench is unbearable; forcing them to keep their doors and windows shut at all times. He says it has even begun affecting the adjacent villages, Johanna Cecilia and Suddie.
Moreover, the resident went on to note, the Suddie hospital was some 100 feet away from the Maria’s Lodge foreshore location where the whale washed up.
Even worse, according to residents, the whale rests just houses away from the Maria’s Lodge Nursery School.
The villagers, who are in fear of the threat of disease from the continued decomposition of the carcass, are pleading with authorities to have the body removed and disposed of.
According to one villager, they had made attempts to arrange to have their local fishermen use their boats to tow the huge body to higher ground, where it could then be burned.
However the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is said to have stepped in and prevented the proposed cremation, on the grounds of its irregularity and potentially harmful effects to the environment.
The result has been that the whale has been left to rot on the foreshore.
Over the past months, several whales have washed ashore at Georgetown and Berbice.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
GUYSUCO’s problems are political not managerial
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The sugar industry has been for centuries Guyana’s agricultural backbone. Yet, its struggles... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
