Robert Lalah and Dionne Rose, Staff Reporters
FIERY ROADBLOCKS, sporadic gunfire, closed business places and empty schools were all part of the mayhem which erupted across the island yesterday, as placard-bearing residents took over the streets to voice their frustration with recent price increases.
The protest action was planned by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which had insisted that political representatives would have ensured that the demonstrations remained within the confines of the law.
NSWMA KEPT BUSY
The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) was kept busy, as workers who were dispatched islandwide had to remove debris from the streets.
"The situation at this moment is that we have a number of roads that are clear," executive director of the NSWMA, Errol Greene reported. "We just finished clearing Red Hills Road, we have cleared all of the major thoroughfares in the corporate areas," he informed The Gleaner.
"The reports from the rural areas are that they were having some challenges in some of the parishes. In Montego Bay for example, we were told that they have some serious challenges there but we are on top of it," he added.
Mr. Greene said that the NSWMA team was hampered by a shortage of manpower and equipment.
Meantime, last night the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) reported that 34 persons were arrested as a result of the day's demonstrations.
Those arrested included Mayor of Spanish Town Dr. Andrew Wheatley and fellow JLP councillor, Natalie Campbell Rodriguez. The police alleged that the two were caught blocking the roadway with debris in the Portmore community.
Another JLP councillor, Sydney Stewart, the deputy mayor of St. Ann's Bay was incarcerated by the St. Ann Police for blocking the road.
