Residents living along one of the main drainage systems of Port Moresby city are concerned about the bad smell, caused by the untreated liquid waste released by industries upstream, almost every day of the week.
In an EMTV Online interview, residents who live along the main drainage system at Kanage Street, Six Mile, said it has been like this for many years.
Elizah Adamni, a long-time resident of the area says the waste creates mass air pollution once the industries upstream dispose of them in the afternoon, and sometimes during the day.
“The places along this drain turn smelly and unpleasant in the so peaceful afternoons because of the air pollution the bad odor from the waste produce,” said Adamni.
According to the dwellers, dry seasons are the worst times for them as the unpleasant smell from the drain would never go away.
When asked if anything has been done by the authorities to address this, Adamni says nothing has been done to date.
The residents are concerned about their health and call upon the relevant authorities to address this. They believe breathing an unhygienic air too often would lead to sicknesses and death.
Female vendors who sell their products at a small market, Kongo Market, near the bridge also claim the hazardous smell sometimes makes them sick at the end of the busy day.
“I would not feel like eating, and will have tummy upsets after being exposed to the bad odor many hours.”
EMTV Online understands that since it is an open drainage system, the dissemination of pollution is inevitable.
Meanwhile, it is becoming a norm were industrial and household wastes are being dumped into main drains without seriously considering their toxicity.
