Sir – Dundee must be currently at its dirtiest. With a new (sort of) Council in place and lots of promises I thought we would start seeing a difference. Sadly not.
But then again, I thought, as I took my visitors from the South Coast on a walk about tour of central Dundee on Saturday morning, it is unfair that I only blame the municipality. Sure the municipality must ensure that the town looks respectable and that litter is removed but what about the people themselves?
All this talk about human rights rings sour and hollow when you look at where these rights lead. The right to litter? The right to act as if no one is watching? The right not to be considerate? Surely we must all ensure that litter is not scattered around? What I saw on Saturday was simply appalling.
The infamous Coronation Park (which I see in the last week’s Courier was the scene of firearm incident) was again full of litter – beer bottles, plastic bags and more. The evidence of a pee-up from the Friday. Chatting to residents who live nearby, they confirmed that there had been a park party on the Friday afternoon. What is even more shocking is that some of the vehicles parked at the party had KZN registration plates – so these were Government employees?
Beaconsfield Street – from the Moth Hall to Karel Landman Street – resembled a battlefield of broken glass, discarded bottles, plastic and even shoes. What goes on there after hours boggles the mind. The open space behind the municipality has also turned into a party place. The ubiquitous green beer bottles were scattered around everywhere. Shocking.
What was even more embarrassing was the corner of Ann and Beaconsfield Streets. The prostitutes who ply their business on the corner (it is not a secret – take a drive shortly after sunset and you will see the young ladies gathered around the fire they make in the gutter) and light nightly fires to keep warm have also left their mark. The flames and smoke have obliterated the street sign. Fires, it seems, are made all over Dundee – in the gutters, on the streets wherever.
My South Coast visitors were saddened as previously they had known Dundee as a fairly clean town. No more. Perhaps the powers-that-be should abandon their mahogany desks for a day and take a walk around the streets, sans bodyguards. They may be shocked by what they find.
Sad but true
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