Uduya Point Cement Factory
Lami
This is a picture of the atmosphere around Uduya Point, Lami, on Tuesday, April 4, at 07:39hrs.
The dust is coming from the Pacific Cement Factory 750 metres away.
Perhaps you can see the cloud of concrete dust in the air that residents who live in the vicinity are forced to breathe in – not just on this day – but almost every day of our lives. Perhaps you, dear reader, can visualise that dust settling on everything around you – on your roof, on your windows, on your cars, on your gardens, on the surrounding forest, on your beds while you sleep, on your kitchen bench, in your food as you are trying to cook, in your lungs and in the lungs of our children.
This cement dust permeates the very air we breathe. This cement dust causes me – a long time resident of Uduya Point – to have a sneezing fit every morning of my life. This same cement dust is so thick in the air that I cannot read a book without having to rinse my eyes from time to time.
We have been making complaints to the Pacific Cement Factory for years! We all know the phone number of the general manager of Pacific Cement Ltd and this person has become so inured to all of us calling him up and making our complaints that he just holds the phone to his ear and responds only when we ask if he is still listening. I hope he is getting paid a lot of money for that job! Where is the Department of Environment? We have also made our complaints to this supposedly “august” body but – as usual – nothing happens.
What is being done with the six per cent environmental levy that all the hotels and tourism operators have to pay? Apparently there is quite a lot of money being gathered under that banner.
So? How is this being spent? What good is it doing for the citizens and rate payers and tax payers of Fiji? What good is it doing for the supposed “pristine” environment of Fiji?Apparently nothing! Something or somebody in the hallowed halls of power must do something!
No! Do not hold a meeting or a conference or a talanoa session so you can all sit about drinking tea and suck on crème buns and hold television interviews extolling your self-righteous accords! Do not just talk about what should be done – actually get off your comfortable chairs and do and achieve something!
What about we move the cement factory next door to all the politicians of Fiji and let them “enjoy” the rancid and polluted air that we here on Uduya Point are forced to breathe?
I guarantee you, if that occurs, something will definitely and actually happen!
The World Health Day is celebrated April 7 under the leadership of the World Health Organisation to draw the attention towards the importance of global health. It was first celebrated worldwide in the year 1950 as the World Health Day.
It is an annual event being celebrated for years to raise the common public awareness towards the health issues and concerns. A particular theme is chosen to run the celebration and take care of the health for whole year.
World Health Day targets all the health issues on global basis for which several programs are organized yearly by the WHO and other related health organizations at various places like schools, colleges and other places.
World Health Day celebration focuses on increasing the life expectancy by adding good health to the lives of people and promoting healthier living habits. Youths of the new era are also targeted by this event to prevent and make them healthy to make the world healthy and free from AIDS and HIV. It provides better prevention and cure from the vector-borne diseases spread by vectors and travelers from one country to other. Some of the objectives of why it is being celebrated yearly are listed below: To promote self care among people, Depression free society.
To motivate and promote efforts in creating the healthy environments in their community.
To increase the public awareness of various causes and prevention of NCD’s.
To provide detail knowledge of getting prevented from various diseases and their complications.
Remember “Health is Wealth”. Eat locally grown vegetables and exercise regularly.