Some residents of Rae Town in Kingston are beyond furious due to a persistent overflow of sewage on Fisher’s Row in the community.

In January the Jamaica Observer published a story highlighting the problem, which was given a patch job, but now, roughly six months later, the sewage is again flowing freely, haunting the residents.

One resident, Namdi Thompson, on Wednesday told the Observer that the stench from the overflowing sewage is unbearable. He demanded that the authorities intervene to protect the children’s health and restore their playtime.

“There is a sewer problem. There seems to be some blockage. Everything is flowing onto the road, and it covers the street. People can’t pass. They have to walk elsewhere to avoid it. The stench is really stink. There are a lot of children on the street and this is their little playground, because this street is a dead-end road and there’s not much traffic.

“Now the children have nowhere to play. This has happened more than once. To my knowledge, a generator at the pump house near the Tower Street prison is not working. If that is not working, there’s always going to be problems. Even if they come and clear the sewer line, it comes back, because when they come, they don’t fix the main problem. Look, those two shops opposite to each other can’t open because of the sewage,” a concerned Thompson explained.

Another resident, who gave her name as only Pingy, said, “The sewage a kill wi.”

She was also very concerned about the threat to the health of the children.

“Everybody deh home now for the summer. It nuh look good. Mi a call di man who work on the sewage truck and he said he was sick. I am glad the Observer is here to highlight the situation. It’s not safe for the children. This morning my cousin-in-law had to set out some building blocks so that we don’t have to walk in sewage,” she said.

According to Cindy, another resident, whenever it is night-time, the problem is exacerbated. She, too, was concerned about the health of the children.

“Right now mi stand up yah suh and mi feel sick,” said Cindy.

In January, Richard Manning, who said he is vice-president of the Rae Town Fishing Village, argued that the problem was not new, as it happens whenever there is a blockage at the pumping station.

“You see like when rain fall, every now and then it occur. The father for this is at the pump house. When that pump house block and the pump block up, everything feed back to right here,” said Manning as he appealed to the authorities to urgently address the matter.

Manning, however, had a message for his fellow residents as he urged them to be more responsible with how they dispose of their garbage.