FALMOUTH, Trelawny — As the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) prepares to clean the massive earth drain which runs through sections of the town and empties into the sea as this year’s Labour Day parish project, Mayor of Falmouth C Junior Gager is urging residents to stop dumping garbage into the channel.

“Our parish project will focus on the environment. We will be doing some amount of cleaning up activities by the ‘drag line’. We are going to make sure that it is much better and we are hoping to fish [out] some of the things that have been thrown into it,” Gager said during Thursday’s regular monthly meeting of the TMC.

“This will be impactful. This is one of the projects that will catch the eyes. People coming into the town will always be looking at the ‘drag line’,” he added.

Gager expressed frustration that the corporation is often blamed for the unsanitary conditions caused by improper waste disposal in the drain that runs through the town.

Over the years, the TMC has been burdened with the task of clearing the open channel, which frequently becomes clogged with garbage and debris. This build-up often results in a foul odour and poses a health risk by creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

In 2021, the municipal corporation undertook a $20-million project to dredge and clean Falmouth’s ‘drag line’.

“Sometimes the municipal corporation receives a bad name as if we are the ones who are really dumping things into the drains or gutters and really it is the people who are doing it,” Gager said.

“We always have to do the cleaning up project and it is time we let it be known that everybody has to take pride and keep away from dumping things into the ‘drag line’ or the drains so that they can be maintained,” he added.

The mayor, who is also chairman of the TMC, is inviting volunteers with large equipment to assist with the parish project.

“Maybe we can get someone to volunteer to help us with equipment. It’s just a Labour Day activity, the more we have is the merrier. If we get, let’s say four [pieces of] equipment coming out, in a matter of time it is done,” he said.

He suggested that councillors start projects in their respective divisions at least two days ahead of Labour Day.

“Please remember, depending on the volume of the work, it is hard to finish on Labour Day. Therefore, I would recommend [that] you start it a day or two earlier so that it is just the completion of the work that can be done for that day. So let us see how we can do it,” the mayor proposed.

He also called on the other eight councillors in the TMC, staff members, agencies and residents to join the church service on Sunday, May 18, at the Faith Apostolic Church in Albert Town, scheduled to begin at 11:00 am, to officially kick off Labour Day activities in the parish.