Residents ‘locked off’
The National Petroleum Company substation at Odessa McClean Road, My Lord’s Hill where the only pipe in the area was located.
By ANESTA HENRY | Fri, July 09, 2010 - 12:00 AM
More than 25 households at Odessa McClean Road, My Lord’s Hill, St Michael have been without water for two days after the lone stand-pipe in the area was disconnected.
Yesterday residents of the Zone 1 area complained to the WEEKEND NATION that “without any notice” on Wednesday, the pipe which is located on the property of the National Petroleum Company (NPC) sub-station in their community, was disconnected by NPC officials.
According to former Member of Parliament for that constituency, Trevor Prescod, all the residents depended on that “only pipe in the area which was locked and supervised by a responsible resident who handled the key”.
Prescod said that yesterday after being called upon by his former constituents, he visited NPC where he spoke to a senior official who told him that management was waiting on a decision from Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Drainage Denis Lowe.
“Without the water you can just imagine the kind of horror that these families are experiencing. But in the meantime all of these people out here are without water, nobody even sent in a water truck to help these people.
“What was agreed on when I was MP for the area was that NPC will continue to pay the bill at all times as long as the people do not abuse the use of water.
“I really believe that if they wanted to stop this service, it is only common decency to at least tell the people, and also find an alternative way of providing water for them. It is folly for someone to tell me that Cabinet had to wait until Thursday to make a decision on a matter as simple as moving a lock so that human beings can have access to water.”
Meanwhile, one resident who preferred to remain anonymous, said he could not understand why the water was turned off because it was there for so many years that residents “consider it as tradition”.
“They didn’t have a reason to turn it off, it wasn’t being used inappropriately. The people put a sophisticated and reliable, abrupt and outspoken person to hold the keys so that people couldn’t do what they wanted with the pipe.
“I don’t see the reason that they had to shut down 25 households,” said the fuming resident.
When contacted MP for the area Deputy Speaker Kenneth Best said that the matter was being looked into.
Efforts to reach Minister Lowe yesterday proved futile.
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If the residents want to use this facility then they should be prepared to pay for it. The NPC should bill the residents equally for the use of this water.
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Comment LinkAny politicican who claimed to have properly represented these people for a number of years ,should hang his head in shame. Obtaining water piggy- backing on the NPC’s account, is just a matter of using buckets instead of Dreamboxes
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Comment LinkI am confused. Why was the NPC providing water to people? Is that not what the BWA is for? Why did these people get water for free while other people have to pay for water? Everyone should be treated the same way. This is just confusing… politics
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Comment LinkI can’t really understand why people like so much “hobby-class”.
In this day and age you can’t have running water in your house? Things may be hard but I think that some of those same residents can do way better but just that they don’t want to spend money, yet u can see some of those same people “dressed to kill”. ***STUPSE***
This article suggests to me that those residents believe that government has an obligation to them to provide water to them free of cost. I think it is downright rubbish!
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Comment LinkGovernment needs to put an end to the welfare state which was existing for too long.Use water,pay for it.
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Comment LinkAre these people modern day people with pride or are they still so impoverished and primitive that they can do no better but go to the standpipe? Since NPC is so generous, they should stretch their genorosity to the rest of us and decrease the cost of their service.
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