City clears the air in Lower Crossroads
A drain that let off a stench of human waste since December has been fixed
Residents of Newrest in Lower Crossroads can breathe freely now that their drain has been fixed. People wouldn’t open their windows because of the unbearable smell. GroundUp reported on the problem last month.
Lusanda Mbali said they had been smelling human waste since December last year. “We are so happy, because now we are able to sit outside and enjoy the sun without being bothered by the smell of human waste. It has been bothering us for the past five months,” she said.
Resident Sandla Mashiya said, “Now we are able to stand here, chat and laugh, something we did not do while the drain was broken.”
Mayoral committee member for the area, Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli, said the problem “was caused by a stormwater manhole situated within the canal” possibly damaged “when the canal was cleaned by a digging loader.”
“The City has resolved the overflow problem, cleaned the canal, done the necessary repair work to the manhole, and completed the cleaning of the pipe”, said Mamkeli.
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