RESIDENTS and business operators in Albion, St Thomas, are appealing to the authorities to do their jobs by correcting the flow of raw sewage on a section of the highway which, they say, has been plaguing them for almost two years.

Pointing to the health risks and general discomfort it poses to people, they also highlighted the fact that a number of food establishments operate in the area.

On Wednesday the Jamaica Observer visited Albion, much to the delight of residents who candidly voiced their frustration.

Daphnie Willis, operator of D&I Jerk and Snacks, pointed to the effluent on the main road in front of her establishment.

“This thing has been happening for so long. Right now, it stop mi business. I used to have a gate right there and I used to use that gate to come off the vehicles and come in. Customers used to use that gate as well,” Willis said, pointing to the spot.

“Sometimes you look out there, the faeces nuff… You see all last week and the week before? It woulda kill mi,” she told the Observer.

“Every now and again you will see health inspectors, but all I see them do is make videos of the situation and then they leave. I said I would block the road, but then, when I thought about it, it makes no sense, therefore I am glad to have the media here to see if you can get some help for us. I need them to come and fix it. Look at the faeces running in the road,” she said.

“If one and two people come through the big gate to the side to buy from me, I just have to say ‘Thank God.’ Otherwise, nothing nah gwaan,” Willis added.

Ronnie Jones, owner of First and Last Jerk Spot, located close to Willis’s business, told the Observer that the problem has become unbearable.

“That is raw sewage running. During construction of the highway, manhole covers were removed and a lot of stones and debris were pushed down in there. It seems as if the stones block up the pipes. Even when power trucks come and try to flush it out, it can’t because the stones down there are very big. You will see in the middle of the road where sewage is coming up. More than one vehicle drop in that manhole. The authorities promised to fix it, but they haven’t. It is terrible,” Jones said.

One woman who runs a bar beside the First and Last Jerk Spot expressed fear that a ditch where a lot of the sewage has settled into a large puddle could be a breeding site for mosquitoes.

“The stench is really high. When the sun is hot, and in the evening when the breeze a blow, the stench is bad. If somebody doesn’t throw black oil in it, the stench kill us, plus there are mosquitoes,” she said.

“A trench was supposed to be created to take the sewage away from the area but it was not finished — it was left halfway. When the rain fall, all the water from off the main road goes into it, and it full up, and it flows over,” the woman said.

“People who live down the lane, they can’t cross over it because the water runs over on the road and goes down to where people live. It bothers the people who live below. It needs to be fixed. This problem has been going on since the highway was built. During the time when we had the heavy rains in last year October, that’s the worst I saw it,” the woman added.