By Upenyu Silent Chaota
Residents from Runyararo West and Victoria Range said the Masvingo City Council has put their health in danger by continuously using the Maparanyanga rubbish dumping site despite its nearness to the residential area.
Residents said there was need for urgent relocation of the rubbish dumping site.
“We are in serious danger of getting diseases …there are a lot flies in this whole area and choking smell and smoke from the dumping area encroach into our houses every day,” said a resident who declined to be named.
They also say that when the council burn the rubbish, the dark clouds of smoke which engulf their area force them to temporarily vacate their houses.
One resident identified as Mai Mukanya said that she is asthmatic and when the smoke from the dumping site encroaches her home, which is just across the street from the dumping area, she finds it difficult to breathe.
“My asthmatic condition doesn’t favour polluted air, I find it difficult to breathe under these conditions and I hope the responsible authorities will act quickly to relocate this site from our doorsteps”, she said.
The city council says it proposed this site because, by then, it was far from the residential areas and now because of the further expansion of the residential areas, they are working hard to try and relocate this site to a much safer place.