Community takes action to remove vagrants posing safety and health risks
Apart from the clinic area, role-players were also able to identify a few other places where vagrants have posed a risk, but they were not in the vicinity at the time.
KEY roleplayers in the Merewent area held a meeting to address vagrants posing a safety and health risk outside the Merebank Clinic.
Board member of the clinic, Yusuf Vawda, said committee members received complaints that vagrants were sleeping on a grass patch outside the clinic, creating an unsafe environment for patients.
“We were notified that the vagrants come in at night and sleep in the vicinity once the clinic closes. The issue has become a concern due to it not only being a health hazard, but it also poses as a safety risk for patients who come in at around 04:00 and queue outside the clinic until it opens,” Vawda said.
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The meeting by Safer Cities, Area Based Management, Wentworth police, ward committee members, representatives from the Merebank Clinic Committee and street committees from Merebank Centre, was held on July 4, where vagrants were addressed and interviewed.
“We spoke to the vagrants living opposite the Merebank Clinic and Merebank Shopping Centre. Despite only finding a few of them, who engaged with us, we hope that the message will spread that nobody will be allowed to sleep or loiter around the vicinity of the clinic.
“We teamed up with the CPF and local security company, PT Alarms and Security, to patrol the area late at night and we managed to locate some of them and remove them,” Vawda said.
“We were then informed that the vagrants come in the early hours of the morning, so the CPF and sub-forum members, together with members of Wentworth police station, conducted a raid. Four vagrants were identified, interviewed and removed.
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“The situation is being monitored. Apart from the clinic area, we were also able to identify a few other places where vagrants have posed a risk, but they were not in the vicinity at the time. We urge residents to be proactive and report these issues immediately so that it can be addressed and stopped,” added Vawda.
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