Clairwood residents endure month-long sewage dilemma
Clairwood resident Nafiza Alli told the Sun that this has been an ongoing issue for about a month and only appears to get worse with each day.
UPON walking down Sirdar Road in Clairwood, one is met by an appalling stench of sewage which has overflowed not only along the road, but within the premises of local residents.
Clairwood resident Nafiza Alli told the Sun that this has been an ongoing issue for about a month and only appears to get worse with each day. “Life at home has become a nightmare, with sewage pouring out of the manhole on my premises and flooding my yard as well as in front of my house. I don’t know what more to do now. I am running at a loss due to this issue and have lost all my tenants that I had rented out my back rooms to,” she said.
Nafiza has had to build several DIY reinforcements to help drain out the raw sewage in one direction into a stormwater pipe as her last resort, following failed attempts to get the necessary help she needs from the municipality. “Some workers who have been contracted by the municipality have come into the area to do some work on the pipes. Last year they put a line into the manhole which alleviated the sewage flooding into mine and my neighbour’s yards. This time around all they can tell us is that the sewage pump is faulty. I have also made several attempts to reach the superintendent at the city’s sewerage department, who has said workers will come and resolve the matter, however, we are still waiting. As ratepayers, I don’t know what we are actually paying for anymore,” she complained.
Nafiza has even had two of her grandchildren admitted into Wentworth Hospital for Hepatitis after a visit to her house. Her neighbour, Shanta Surajbali is faced with the same filthy dilemma, with her very own lake of sewage flooding her backyard. “I can’t even clean the mess because it continuously flows into my premises the more that people in the surrounding areas use their toilets, it all comes to us.” said a distressed Shanta. Her three year old grandson can’t even enjoy the innocent pleasure of playing freely outside as it poses a great health hazard to him.
Ward 32 PR councillor Sharmaine Sewshanker said that service delivery in Clairwood is virtually non existent. “The overall sewer blockage and overflow issue has been ongoing for more than two years. I have sent numerous correspondences to the head of Waste Water Management and the department of Water and Sanitation and there has been no permanent solution as yet. Illegal sewer connections and the heavy trucks driving over some of the small roads, damaging storm water manholes have contributed to the woes of rate paying residents. At least two roads in Clairwood have an ongoing sewer overflow problem which is unhygienic, can lead to serious health issues and this is totally unacceptable for anyone to live under. Businesses have been affected and residents like Nafiza have had to endure the stench and raw sewerage seeping onto their doorstep. It is unacceptable that a municipality can not find a more permanent solution to the sewer issue in Clairwood,” she said.
Attempts to obtain a comment from the eThekwini Municipality proved futile.
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