MAY PEN, Clarendon — The foul odour which currently pollutes this mid-island town is in stark contrast to the effect that the operators of the Shoppers Fair Supermarket had hoped for when they moved into their new home on Sevens Road this summer.

Now, in addition to the cost of repairing the building, which had a partial structural collapse in mid-October, they are earning the wrath of the public in May Pen for not having as yet removed rotting perishable items which is believed to be the source of the stench.

The move from the Bargain Village Plaza on Main Street to the more spacious building previously occupied by SuperPlus Food Stores was aimed at improving the stature of Shoppers Fair in the retail business in May Pen.

The new facility boasted most of the modern amenities that are designed to make the shopping experience much more convenient for customers. Among other things, there was an in-house bakery, which was complemented by an improved fruits and produce section. However, what was shaping up to be a pleasurable shopping experience quickly turned into a nightmare when the roof of the building caved in on Friday, October 12, exactly 15 weeks after the store’s grand opening.

It is still unclear what caused the damage, but some reports say a lightning bolt accompanied by heavy rains which pelted May Pen that afternoon triggered the collapse.

Instead of bracing for what might have been a busy shopping spree this coming Yuletide season, the operators of the supermarket are making plans to reconstruct the roof ahead of a projected reopening sometime next year.

But first, they must get rid of the stench.

The supermarket’s management team remains tight-lipped about activities on the premises. However, May Pen Mayor Scean Barnswell, who along with members of the public health, fire and police departments met with the supermarket’s owners and toured the facility last week, is assuring the public that the clean-up should get underway early this week.

“The stench that people have been dealing with for about two weeks now is one which we will be able to eliminate come Monday/Tuesday,” he said.

“The purpose of the meeting was to plan how we will be conducting removal of the perishable items and how the National Solid Waste Management team will be transporting it to a location, which is unknown at this time for public safety,” he added.

While urging members of the public to stay clear of the facility, especially during the clean-up, Barnswell said it should in no way disrupt the normal operation of schools and businesses located within the Sevens Road area.

“We have taken that into consideration, so we will be doing it at a time that should be convenient to everybody,” he noted.

He also noted that the parish council will be conducting an independent investigation into the matter to see if there was any breach of the building codes, adding that there will be penalties if any violation is found.

“The operators realised that they need to act fast, because the citizens are complaining, so they came in and did their assessments and have secured the outer walls of the building to prevent further collapse,” he said.

“We thought it was just a section of the roof that gave way, but when we went inside we realised that it was a significant portion of it, so we also looked on the structure itself to see if there was any breach.

“We will be asking them (the operators) to submit drawings to us to see if there has been any modification to the plan that we had approved,” Barnswell said.