The committed members at the Merebank Civic Committee (MCC) are working alongside various local departments in order to eradicate a host of illegal dumping hotspots which have been identified within their community.
These problem areas include Sambalpur Road, Raj Mahal Road, Dinapur Road corner, Warangal Road, Calicut Place, the lower navy areas among several and the Merebank Shopping Centre. At the start of May, MCC volunteers visited Beverly Hills Flats to clean up the area, expecting the support of residents who never showed. MCC said despite the team from Durban Solid Waste (DSW) previously doing an educational programme, about littering and illegal dumping at the flats, it continues. “It also appears that suspected culprits of illegal dumping are not residents at the flats either, so we will be working with their body corporate to forward the issue.” The team attributed much of the dumping, which included rubble, to residents who pay off desperate individuals to get rid of their dirt. “We have active whistle-blowers and vehicle registrations as well as photos of dumpers at Rajmahal Road Park which have already been handed over to the respective law enforcement department for investigation. We will name and shame them on social media too.”
Despite momentum gaining, the team admit challenges of poor street-lighting and overgrown grass exacerbated the illegal dumping trend they hope to rid. They said, “If you are a witness to this offence please take the registration number of the vehicle or the address of the persons dumping and report it to DSW immediately on 031-311-8804.”The committee also expressed their gratitude to Anitha Govender from Durban South Basin Area Based Management as well as Neliswe Zulu and Justice Shange of DSW who organised the necessary essentials and vehicle to uplift the garbage. “A big thank you to Saleem Mathen who assisted with his bakkie. We certainly need more hands and like these.” Details of illegal dumpers or those wanting to volunteer their resources can contact MCC members on 072-141-5045 (Neville Moodley), 084 362 1016 (Bala Govender), 082-579-7500 (Mike Chetty) or 064-908-4018 (Devon Munsami).
