YORK TOWN, CLARENDON:

Several residents of the Parnarsus Housing Scheme in York Town, Clarendon, are now in fear of losing their homes the next time there are heavy rains.

The worry has come with the Rio Minho's change in course, which, in some cases, is just a few metres from residents' backyards.

When The Gleaner visited the housing scheme, which was built in the early 1970s for sugar workers of the then Sevens Estate in the parish, several residents took us to the back of their homes and showed us the river. In a few instances, the peril of this community became obvious with the river less than 200 metres from their doorsteps.

unsupervised sand mining

"When I came here to live nearly 40 years ago, the river was about two miles from where it is today," said Gustavious Leiven, a long-standing resident of the community.

"We could not see the river from where we live because all that land it now occupies used to be under cultivation," he added.

Another resident, under the condition of anonymity, said: "I think the river has changed its course due to bad and unsupervised sand-mining activities that has been taking place in the Rio Minho."

However, the police in Clarendon have said they were unaware of illegal sand-mining activities in the area, though they know of the plight facing the citizens.

Councillor for the York Town division, Uphell Purcell, is now making a plea to the relevant ministries to immediately intervene because several lives are now at risk.

- Dwight Nelson