A man who gave his name only as Donovan, supervisor of the Kremi ice cream store on Orange Street in downtown Kingston, is celebrating a relief from the stench and health hazard that affected the establishment when raw sewage overflowed from a manhole.

The Jamaica Observer visited the business earlier this week and Donovan was smiling, something he couldn’t manage to do on December 6 as he watched a trickled-down number of customers step cautiously on pallets inside the store to avoid the filth as they purchased ice cream.

Donovan was grateful for the response from the authorities to remedy the situation and thanked the Observer for highlighting their plight in its December 7 publication.

Almost two weeks after the problem was corrected the Kremi store is experiencing an increase in the number of customers.

“I feel much better because we can breathe fresh air. Do you see the lot of customers in here now, the last time you came it wasn’t like that, so I am very happy they came and did a good job. I thank the authorities and the Jamaica Observer for putting in the paper,” he said.

The relief and increase in business was not felt by Kremi alone.

A Rastafarian vendor of ground provision and vegetables close to the Heywood Street/Orange Street intersection, said he feels better that sewage no longer flows where he does business. He said that he could not believe that the authorities allowed the problem to continue for so long.

“Mi feel likkle better because mi naa smell the mess, but dem should use the water and wash it off when it done. They need to treat people like people and not like animals. It was awful and devastating. Mi cyaan believe seh a Jamaica this. Jamaicans are brilliant but we do foolishness things. Day after day we had to walk inna sewage. It should not happen in the 21st century.

A bus conductor, who identified himself only by his alias Iron teeth, who said he had to stomach the stench on many occasions during his trips to and from downtown Kingston in recent weeks, was pleased to receive a break from the raw sewage.

“It never pleasant fi deh yah and a see dem water deh a run. Dat a nuh good thing, because if people mek even a mistake and step inna di water dem nah go have nobody fi sue. You have some people weh sensitive and a dem di medical bills ago fall pon. Mi glad seh it clean up still,” said the bus conductor.

Quallie, a vendor near Orange and West Queen Streets, who had also complained about the conditions on December 6, also said he was receiving more customers since the problem was fixed.

“A whole heap a improvement. People start walk past me again and me a get more buyers. The thing more unique and a work better now. It is a wonderful feeling compared to what happened weh day. A yah suh we do we business, and when the water run business nuh good. When it clean, business flows.”