Mysterious noxious stench on The Bluff causes frustration

RESIDENTS of The Bluff have been left struggling to breathe due to a ‘mysterious’ sporadic noxious smell in the air.

Charlett Davidson (33) of Bluff Road said the smell has resulted in her youngest daughter, Chlara, who is asthmatic, having to be nebulised on a daily basis. Davidson lives with her husband, mother (64) and two daughters, aged eight and four.

Also read: SDCEA investigates putrid smells in South Durban

“It has become a daily struggle as we are suddenly hit by this strong smell, which causes us to start coughing and our throats and eyes to burn. My baby has been in and out of hospital for the past year as she coughs till she is unable to breathe and vomits. She is already on a pump twice a day and has to now be nebulised. It is really difficult for her.

“We also cannot leave our doors open and sometimes burn scent sticks to try and mask the smell, but it does not help. We are at a point of wanting to sell up and move out of The Bluff for the sake of our children. I fear that the next hospital admission will be the last. I cannot take that risk,” she said.

Another resident, Chantelle Heslop, said her son, Noah (11), who is also asthmatic, has been hospitalised three times since they moved to Bluff Road a year ago.

“His chest is constantly tight, and he has developed eye allergies. He has to take an asthma pump twice a day, an asthma tablet, use a nose spray every day and eye drops every morning and every night. He also has to be nebulised. He recently had a bad asthma flare-up that I feel was triggered by pollution let into the air.

“He misses out on school and important tests or exams because of how the pollution is affecting his chest. The smells are sometimes so bad, I cannot even let him play outside and feel he is missing out on being a child,” she said.

Heslop said she has reported the smell to the eThekwini Municipality on various occasions.

“They say that they are investigating, but we need this smell to go away and the perpetrators to be brought to book. My medical aid is exhausted and so is my leave for the hospital stays,” she said.

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