RADHICA DE SILVA
Just a day after dengue victim Robin Mahadeo was cremated, his grieving family faces yet another heart-wrenching ordeal. They are now praying that they don’t have to endure another tragedy as Mahadeo’s niece, Marsha, 45, clings to life in the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital.
So far, 11 people from the community are suspected to be infected with dengue fever, as the main source of the mosquito infestation comes from the stagnating lagoons in front of their homes.
When Guardian Media visited the area, tyres littered one property nearby, serving as potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Another set of tyres hung along the front of a wall, creatively repurposed as plant pots for ornamental plants. At their Ramsubhag Trace, Barrackpore home, Robin’s brother Mahindra Mahadeo said the mosquitoes seem to have become immune to spraying.
“Every day we spray the place with malathion, but that is not stopping these mosquitoes,” Mahindra said.
He said since the onset of the rains, the water from the lagoons has become stagnant. “It usually flows out into the river, but for six months now that river is clogged, so the lagoon water backs up and just sits there stagnating,” Mahindra said.
He explained that millions of mosquito larvae hatch every day in the lagoons. Mahindra said since the dengue spike, they have been worried.
“In the space of one week, 11 people got dengue. I got it 15 days ago, and it was really terrible. Plenty of body aches, you feeling sleepy and you can’t eat. All you can do is drink liquid. The only tablet to ease it is paracetamol,” he said.
He called on the authorities to clear their clogged drains and open access out of the flooded lagoons. “If the water could flow out of the lagoon, it wouldn’t have so many mosquitoes,” Mahindra said.
He begged, “Clean up the drainage, coming to spray once a year doesn’t make any sense.”
Saying his family was in mourning, Mahindra added, “My brother Robin died from dengue, and Marsha, my niece, is in ICU. This is something we cannot bear. Everybody is getting sick.”
Meanwhile, chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Gowtam Maharaj said the corporation has been spraying 1,100 houses per day and clearing watercourses. “We cleared the Mitchell Channel, the channel near Ramdharrie Trace, the Chovie Channel. Right now, there is an excavator clearing Ramsubhag to Mahabir Trace.”
He said the backhoes and excavators have been clearing the watercourses, but he said most of the waterways fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture, and he wants their help to get the areas cleaned up,” Maharaj said.
At Clarke Road, a private landowner reportedly stopped the PDRC excavator from clearing the drain because she had banana trees planted. Carol Rambally said her grandson got infected with dengue, and reports were made to the PDRC. “The excavator cannot clear the drain without pushing down the fig trees. We want the drains cleaned. People are causing their own problems,” she said.
“It has so many mosquitoes you cannot sit down in the yard,” she said.
Another resident, Mahadeo Sookdeo, who is recovering from a stroke, said he was concerned about the clogged drains. “I feel this is very unreasonable.”
The Caribbean Public Health Agency said last weekend that the dengue situation had increased 200-fold in the Americas when compared to statistics from the first quarter of 2023 and 2024. All countries in the Americas have been urged to remain vigilant about the spread of dengue.