Guajimia needs more time

[NewsWhore]

For months now, the country's newspapers have been discussing the need to channel, clean up and restore the ecology of Guajimia Creek and the surrounding areas, a major breeding ground for mosquitoes and thus a source of dengue fever. The recent rains have only accentuated the problems, sweeping two children to their deaths and providing the newspapers with dramatic pictures of housewives cleaning their mud-drenched living quarters and the seemingly endless amount of refuse carried in the creek. The Santo Domingo Water Authority (CAASD) is planning a clean up, but says it is not currently able to control the flooding. Jose Manuel Aybar, who is in charge of the project, told Listin Diario that the creek and its environs could not be dealt with until the families who live nearby are relocated. The initial relocation ceremony, scheduled for last Thursday, had to be postponed because floodwaters from the creek engulfed part of the setting to be inaugurated by President Fernandez. The 208 apartments will be distributed at a later date, once the flood damage is cleaned up. The entire project began six years ago and the first part was recently completed. The project, US$85 million financed by the Canadian government, seeks to relocate 1,390 families. Only then can work begin on the sanitary and hydraulic structures needed to clean up and channel the creek.

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