A group of citizens led by the Poder Ciudadano (Citizen Power) group and other civil society organizations, protested in front of the Municipal Palace in Santiago, and called for a resolution to the garbage disposal problem currently affecting the entire municipality.
Carrying signs, the demonstrators declared that city residents were exposed to diseases because of the great accumulation of refuse, not only on the avenues and streets but also in the most populated barrios and the residential areas at all economic levels.
According to a report in Listin Diario, the demonstrators called for a clean Santiago and demanded that the city government pick up the refuse. Lawyer Lucien Carlo, speaking for the Citizen Power group, criticized the fact that the municipal garbage trucks can take between eight to 10 days to cover any given area. She said that in her private office, on Calle Ponce, the trucks only come by every nine days.
An evangelical pastor, Pablo Urena, complained that the municipal administration seeks to be re-elected when it has not been able to deal with the city’s garbage situation. Recently, Mayor Gilberto Serulle announced that the garbage collection problem had been resolved because as well as the 18 trucks that are handled directly by the city government, two companies are also working to collect refuse throughout the city. It was noted, however, that the municipality still owes these companies RD$100 million.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ciudad/cadena-humana-protesta-frente-al-ayuntamiento-de-santiago-por-la-basura-LC2422951
