THE DEADLY DANGERS OF IMPROPER GARBAGE DISPOSAL

Nov 25, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I humbly request that you share the following which is intended to educate and stir our nation to speedily work towards practical solutions for the above growing problem.
On November 21, 2017 the late Ramnarine of Lot 143, Block 8, Mon Repos was laid to rest. A few days earlier he was attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees while riding his bicycle along the Mon Repos Public Road. His only child, Suresh Ramnarine, related that the bees were nested in a carelessly discarded old tyre on the road shoulder and they were disturbed by a grazing cow. In close proximity to this site is a tyre repair shop.
Two other persons were stung by a few bees who passed by just before Mr. Ramnarine, but the swarm of hundreds of bees attacked him and he quickly succumbed. He was a fairly healthy man working at the BV/Triumph NDC during the day and watching at a business at night. He was therefore making quite a sacrifice to provide for himself and family and society has lost a very resourceful person.
A few weeks ago a team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure clearing the road shoulders of the Mahaica new road was also attacked by Africanized bees. These bees were nested in discarded old tires on the road shoulder which were covered by dried vegetation and could not have been detected by the team.
It is very likely that these old tyres were dumped by persons nearby who sell used cars and agricultural machinery. The workers destroyed the bees by setting fire to the hive. The fire got out of control and they had to be assisted by a fire tender. I also recall that on a recent return trip from Corentyne the Berbice Bridge was closed and I queued for crossing.
Thrice I saw persons throwing garbage out of their vehicles to the road shoulder which had been weeded and cleaned by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure just a week before. They all argued with me when I spoke to them and none of them picked up their garbage. Certainly this garbage will pose a hazard to the weeders when they will clean next time.
Mr. Ramnarine’s death is a clear indication of the deadly dangers of improper garbage disposal, especially old tires. When a problem leads to loss of life it needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency. It is therefore imperative that we join hearts and hands and work towards practical solutions.
Problems don’t just go away by themselves, or by us merely planning or talking. We need to act quickly, wisely and constructively. There is an old saying which says that “Cleanliness is next to godliness’. However the teaching of the Holy Bible goes a bit deeper – cleanliness is a part of godliness. If we will like our nation to be blessed let us keep it clean.
Dr. Sewnauth Punalall ThD (Hon)
Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship

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