By Gerald Miller, Freelance Writer
Blythe
WESTERN BUREAU:
MEMBER OF Parliament for Central West-moreland, Dr. Karl Blythe, said the relocation of Roaring River residents "is not an if, but a must". The issue of relocating the residents of Roaring River, whose houses are posing a serious threat to the quality of the water from the Roaring River Treatment Plant has been a subject of debate for quite sometime, but there seems to be no one willing to bell the cat.
But, doctor Blythe seems to be giving the issue serious consideration as according to him, the Roaring River is the number one water source in the parish, hence everything has to be done to protect the source. "The matter of relocating those who live at environmentally unsafe areas around the source is not a matter of if, but when it has to be done," said Blythe.
The Central Westmoreland Member of Parliament said land has already been earmarked for the people to be relocated, in close proximity to the Roaring River community. "Land has already been identified. The fact is development plans are well on the way on paper but you know to do it on paper is one thing, we have to get the funding to ensure that we put it down on the ground," added the MP.
However, the former Water and Housing Minister did not give a deadline for the relocation exercise to be effected, and neither did he give a price tag for the relocation plan. According to Blythe, he has briefed the residents on his intention to relocate them on lands close to where they are living. "I have already addressed the residents of Roaring River, they understand and they are willing to relocate" but this move he said, is not going to be easy. "It is not just that you are saying to people, here is a piece of land, go relocate. You have to be providing the houses."
"Also, because you will be demolishing fixed structures that are in these environmentally unfriendly areas, so it is going to take a lot of money but it is on the drawing board," added Blythe. The relocation of the residents of Roaring River has also been one of the
recommendations of the Westmoreland Health Department. The project is taking on a level of urgency, given the fact that a survey carried out by the Westmoreland Health Department had shown that 39.6 per cent of the eighty sealed pits that were built for residents in the area in the 1990s are now filled with faeces. In addition, 60.4 per cent of the pits, although not filled, contain faeces and water which normally fluctuate with the water tables.
