“Situation at Ornamibo must be under control this week”

The government has reportedly released an additional SRD 500,000 to finance the operation aimed at getting the situation at the Ornamibo garbage dump back to normal. If more money is needed, the government will raise this figure to SRD 1 million. Meanwhile the situation at Ornamibo is being called a disaster as the local residents are not the only ones who are being bothered by the smoke and the stench. Reports indicate that the wind has blown the smoke and the stench to other parts of Paramaribo. The clinic at Houttuin recently reportedly a drastic increase in the number of patients that are complaining about having a runny nose, skin irritation, irritation of the eyes and pain in the throat. Vice President Ashwin Adhin who acknowledged that “we are dealing with a disaster” pointed out that roads will be constructed to prevent fires at the garbage dump from breaking out again. Additional excavators, bulldozers and water pumps have been brought to the garbage dump to get the fire under control. Officials on Monday pointed out that they aimed at getting the situation under control within 4 days. The local schools will remain closed this entire week. The fire broke out on October 7 after a scavenger had started a fire at the garbage dump. The fire department could not reach the location because there are no roads. Several emergency roads had to be ‘constructed’ to reach the fire. Firefighters were dependent of excavators that had to be rented from third parties. Meanwhile more heavy equipment is being deployed on site to get the job done. VP Adhin pointed out that the scavengers have been told that they are temporarily being banned from the garbage dump. Police officers and soldiers have been deployed at the garbage dump to handle security because the scavengers were hampering the operations of the firefighters.

The director at the National Coordination Center for Disaster Control (NCCR), Jerry Slijngaard, explained that a coordination center was established on site so that the various units can receive clear instructions. Slijngaard pointed out that an assessment survey would be conducted from the air in a helicopter. The assessment survey is necessary to get a clear indication of the location of the fires. The NCCR director hopes that the heavy rains will also come to their aid. Slijngaard pointed out that people who keep water in barrels must make sure that the smoke has not contaminated the water as this can be hazardous to their health. Fire Chief Radjen Jakhari pointed out that the plan is to get the fire under complete control by Friday.