The dirty canal in Ottery is a health hazard, say residents.
Image: Picture: Supplied
Ottery residents say the Edward Road canal is filthy and stinking, attracting flies, mosquitos, mice, and rats which are then infesting their homes.
Melanie Arendse said the community has been complaining on their group chat about suffering from diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting and blame the dirty canal.
She said the City has not cleaned the canal in years.
“We know that people are dumping, but besides that, we are talking about the effects of accumulated dirt that leads to green slime and attracts rodents. It is disgusting.”
Residents says the stink from the canal is nauseating.
Image: Picture: Supplied
Shakeerah Pillay, who lives in a backyard on Frank Road near the canal, said: “We live a few seconds walk away from the canal. The other day, a big rat ran into my neighbor’s yard. Mice are freely running around. I was worried about this big rat, but they caught it in the yard. My son also saw a mouse in his room.”
Ms Pillay said she and one of her sons have had to stay home sick with stomach cramps and nausea. “The canal water is so smelly, and it’s also because of people dumping, but the City does not clean up or even cut the grass regularly.”
Ms Pillay said people dump in the canal because the rubbish trucks sometimes come late. “When it gets too late, people take their dirt bins back off the street to prevent others from stealing them, and then they dump their dirt at the canal.”
Ms Pillay said she has seen a truck from a factory outside their area dumping a pile of rubbish close to the canal, where street people can rummage and make a mess.
Canal3 The dirty canal attracts mice, rats and other vermin.
Image: Picture: Supplied
“The EPWP (Expanded Public Works Programme) workers pick it up to clean up the rest of the dirt so nicely for the City workers to pick up, but while the bags are lying there, mice and rats scratch in the bags.”
Tashnika Adams, who lives on the same road as the canal, said, “For the past few weeks, my family and I, including young children, have been suffering from a bad case of diarrhea and stomach pains. We’ve seen on the community group chat that many people have the same symptoms. The smell is unbearable, and because we are staying so close to the canal, our place is filled with flies, mosquitos, and small fruit flies.”
The City of Cape Town said: "The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate has received this enquiry and will advise on the cleaning of the Edward Street canal in due course.
"City Health has received complaints relating to vector control – specifically mosquitoes – emanating from the canal.
"Environmental Health Practitioners have liaised with the relevant departments around cleaning the canal. However, they’ve not received any complaints about diarrhoea/stomach cramps and no obvious diarrhoea trends/spikes have been observed at nearby City clinics. "It must be noted that, while strong odours may trigger nausea which can be associated with vomiting, they are not directly linked to diarrhoea. "Diarrhoea typically results from ingesting harmful pathogens (such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites), contaminated food or water. "If any person is experiencing persistent symptoms, it is recommended that they consult the nearest City clinic or other healthcare professional to identify and address the root cause."
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