Gutters Mount residents feel forgotten

Gutters Mount resident Mellissa has not washed her hair in weeks, and neither has she taken a proper bath because of the lack of water.

Mellissa and other members of the St Catherine community, which is located near to Kitson Town, say they have been waiting for years for decent water supply but their dreams have turned into a fleeting illusion.

"Right now mi wah wash off properly. A bare wash mi affi a wash round mi footside. Mi caa bathe, mi hair want to wash from when and it caa wash. Look pan mi scalp, it wah wash," an upset Mellissa told THE STAR.

Gutters Mount residents have been suffering as a result of poor water distribution for a long time. A 76-year-old resident, who gave her name as Cherry, said she last got water in the pipe two years ago.

"Last week mi fi go a doctor and a wipe mi affi wipe up," said the old woman, as she begged the authorities to provide the community with water.

Mellissa said that coupled with the water crisis is the lack of proper roads. She said their political representatives have been missing in action.

"It come in like wi live back a God. Every time you call dem, they give you all sort a runaround story, 'mi gone a meeting, mi deh foreign'; all sort of stories," she said.

Maureen Dixon, 47, said she grew up in the community and the road has never been properly paved. She said as a result of the poor road surfaces, taxis have refused to venture into the area.

"The road bad and nuh taxi nah carry wi up. We affi a walk come up the hill, sometimes dem left wi pan the back road, we affi walk through bush fi come a wi yaad, all inna night. A several times dem rob people down the hill when dem a come from work," she said.

Hyacinth Harris said that she has suffered immensely from walking on the rigid surface.

"You see mi right yah so now, a work mi a walk come from and mi a tek a likkle rest. The stone dem inna the road just a mash up mi foot so. If we sick a night, wi dead because wi affi run go dung the road to get taxi. I work on the old road basic school, I have to walk every morning and every evening. You nuh see how mi a get slim," she said.

The residents said they are calling on the various authorities to address their issues because they are in desperate need of road and water.

Councillor for the Red Hills division, Keith McCook, said that he is aware of the situation facing the communities and they are doing their best to assist them.

"A lot of persons don't want to comply with water commission so they might turn it off for a while and try to get people to comply. We have meeting right across the board and they would say yes, they will comply, but when they start getting water, they do not comply. But we are trying our best to assist people because that is what we are here to do," he said.

As it relates to the roads, he said that some work is due to begin shortly.

"The road up by Gutters needs total rehabilitation. When the rain falls in this area, everything that you throw on the road, it wash away. You marl it and it suppose to dry. As the rain falls, it wash away. So it needs to be asphalted," he said.