VENDORS at the Coronation Market in downtown Kingston say they fear serious health problems could break out at the facility where they have been forced to operate without water for the last two months.

On Wednesday Town Clerk Robert Hill sought to provide clarification, saying that a decision was made not to provide National Water Commission (NWC) piped water to the market — the largest in the Corporate Area.

Hill said that water is instead trucked to the market on a weekly basis.

But vendors are not too happy with the Town Clerk’s explanation.

“Right now the lack of water is a major problem. We are worried, we cannot continue to operate like this,” said Sandra Palmer.

Carol Brown, another higgler who sells ground provisions, shared the same view.

“For the past two months there is no water at the facility. This is a place where people have to sell to members of the public,” Brown argued.

Another disgruntled vendor, Orville Brown, said that the water problem has even pushed customers away from the facility.

“With no water, bathroom facilities cannot operate efficiently and people who clean the facilities are forced to purchase water to ensure that the bathrooms are kept clean,” he said.

“We fear that if the problem is not dealt with quickly, it could lead to great issues.”

Said another vendor who identified herself only as Simone: “We are disappointed. We believe if it was any other facility it would have been closed down if water was absent.”

But the Town Clerk shot back saying that the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation was forced to make the decision because of the actions of people in the market area.

“We now truck water on a weekly basis to the market; it was no longer prudent to provide NWC piped water as the related bills are restrictive, and the wanton theft and diversion by users of the market could no longer be tolerated. This trucking is more manageable,” Hill told the Jamaica Observer.

Meanwhile, vendors are also calling on the authorities to implement measures to rid the market area of mosquitoes.

The calls come as the Ministry of Health has warned Jamaicans to take necessary precautions in light of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak in Brazil that could spread to the island.