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Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew Western, Anthony Hylton, is pleading with the authorities to allocate the funds necessary to dredge the Duhaney River to prevent another major flooding event in the New Haven community.
According to Loop Jamaica , the river was last dredged in 2007.
“We cannot afford for another senior citizen to get pneumonia being escorted out of bed in the rain to seek alternative shelter, and we certainly cannot afford for another child to die before the Duhaney River is dredged and the issues at Six Miles, which prevent the free-flow of water from the Fresh Water River, Duhaney River and Washington Boulevard drains, are addressed,” said Hylton.
He described the situation in New Haven as a complex one that was “not simply about persons squatting on or near a river bank for several decades. It is also a symbol of many of the social-ills that plague our societies at this time. It includes rampant criminality, lack of enforcement of our laws, lack of affordable housing, and under investment in our physical infrastructure.”
He was speaking in the House of Representatives earlier this week as he made his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate.
Hylton also said that the Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Works, Everald Warmington, has recently promised to have the National Works Agency (NWA) define the scope of the problem with a view to dredging the river.