Orange Walk townspeople are getting ready right now, because in less than an hour, the Department of Environment will be hosting a public consultation in that northern town to discuss the plight of the New River.
Since the beginning of the month, the frustrations of the conservation-minded Orange Walkeños have been building, to the point where things may become very contentious at the public consultation.
But, now it's not just the conservation minded; there's widespread public consternation and outrage because huge volumes of dead fish are floating up at the water's edge.
It's stinking up communities alongside the river and causing widespread concern about how sick and polluted the river truly is.
One of the communities hardest hit by the foul odor of the dead fish is Tower Hill, which is almost annexed to Carmelita. Yesterday, and this morning, concerned residents have been working through the stench to clean up and remove as much of the dead fish as they can.
Elodio Aragon Jr., the Area Representative for Orange Walk East, was with the villagers of Tower Hill today, and he called for immediate action by the Department of Environment:
Hon. Elodio Aragon Jr. - Area Rep., Orange Walk East
"As far as I know, the villagers have been complaining here in Tower Hill in regards to the massing stench that is out here. And of course, if you look around you'll see a lot of fishes floating in the water. This is terrible in terms that they have never experienced this situation for, I think, as far as I could remember. And I think this has a direct relation in terms of what is happening with the river. All the kind of stagnation, and the - what would I call it - the pollution of the river. So, it is a major concern, especially for the residents of Tower Hill."
Fidencio Vellos - Resident, Tower Hill Village
"It's very unfortunate that at this point in time, here in Tower Hill, that we're facing a major major problem, a major negative impact of chemicals in the water. And as you can see just behind me, how much dead fish we have. We have tonnes and tonnes of fish that have been removed yesterday. And today, we need to remove all of this fish again, because it's making the entire community smell extremely bad. And this is the first time that things like this have happened in our area."
Roque Quijano - Chairman, Tower Hill Village
"It's something that we've been going through every year. But this year, it's a totally different scenario, and it's been worst, due to the fact that we haven't been having any rain."
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