Water relief soon for hot-tempered Chester Castle
Published:Friday | February 25, 2022 | 12:12 AM
The National Water Commission (NWC) has sought to cool the simmering rage of protesters in Chester Castle, Hanover, on Thursday, assuring that a dysfunctional pump will be repaired and recommissioned by Saturday.
The pump broke down and is undergoing repairs, Andrew Canon, NWC’s manager of corporate communications, told The Gleaner on Thursday evening.
Canon said that the repair process had been hobbled by delayed shipment of equipment, which he attributed to global supply-chain woes that have slowed international trade.
The pledge to recommission the pump came hours after residents blocked miles of roadway in the morning over a lack of running water.
Blocking traffic using empty steel water tanks, old motor vehicles, tyres, appliances, and branches, the residents reported that households have had to operate without running water for long periods, some for as long as six weeks.
The crisis has been of even greater concern amid the ongoing, though fading, outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,800 people here.
Veronica Faulkner, an elderly resident, said that she joined the protest because she has not had any water at her home for the past three weeks.
“This is a populated community. We don’t use pit toilets anymore. We used flush toilets, so we need water to flush our toilets. We need water to wash our hands. It’s COVID time,” said Faulkner, who is in her 60s.
Hundreds of motorists, taxi operators, and commuters were left stranded as the blockades stretched from Chester Castle to the border of Bethel Town in Westmoreland.
Residents also criticised Hanover Eastern Member of Parliament Dave Brown, alleging that he had been neglectful in advocacy for community matters.
Several attempts to contact Brown on Thursday were unsuccessful.
Canon said that water has been trucked to the community.