Sewage dilemma puts a damper on Diwali celebrations
What was meant to be good quality time with family, quickly turned sour when malfunctions to the main sewer drainage point in Kuben Naidoo's yard resulted in a push-back of sewage into his residence.
MEREBANK resident Kuben Naidoo was left both disappointed and disgusted when a stream of raw sewage put a damper on his festive spirits. What was meant to be good quality time with family during the Diwali weekend, quickly turned sour when malfunctions to the main sewer drainage point in his yard, which services the other surrounding houses in the area, resulted in a push-back of sewage into his residence.
“The issue started about five days ago. I called the municipality’s water and sanitation department and logged a complaint but they didn’t do anything. Fortunately the sewage levels subsided on its own. But it got worse on Sunday morning, 15 November. As I walked out the door, there was raw sewage all over the yard. I reported the issue again and workers only arrived the following night on Monday and did a clean up.
“They didn’t even do a proper job because there was still some overflow the next morning. I had visitors over but I had to send them, as well as my children, away because of how bad the situation was. It was disgusting. The other tenants on the premises also host an intimate Sunday church service and they were also greatly affected. I just wish that the municipality could have a good maintenance plan so that as residents, we don’t run into these problems instead of coming here every month to put out fires. This is sad and its no way to live,” said Naidoo, adding that sewage issues are a regular inconvenience in the area.
EThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed a team was dispatched to attend to the issue on Monday, 16 November. “The issue of blocked manholes continues to be a problem in the City, this is despite the speed that the City moves with to attend to such blockages. What is compounding our woes is that some members of the public continue to dispose of foreign objects into the system resulting in it to block. The City does receive reports of manhole blockages from time to time and its responds to them but within a short space of time we find ourselves having to go back to square one. We also have a serious concern of our residents who are invading land, who later on connect illegally to our system, with material, which is not compatible with the system, resulting in it to malfunction. eThekwini will never derive any joy from subjecting its residents to manholes are that blocking. For us to be able to win the war against blocking, manholes we need to work together unceasingly by heading all the calls made by the Municipality to residents to refrain from dumping foreign objects into the system.”
Merebank’s ward 75 PR councillor Sthembiso Ngema emphasised the need for the city to prioritise fixing the infrastructure and bringing efficient services to the residents. “They are not doing favours for the residents, however, it the city’s responsibility and a mandate to ensure the better lives for all. That is why the residents are paying the rates, so that the city will have the financial muscle to provide services without any delays. It also significant that the city don’t turn a blind eye when it comes to the issues of fraud and corruption in regard to public funds. These are meant to develop the city and ensure service delivery. It must come to an end where people steal from the poor and nothing happens.”
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