Greater Santo Domingo is just recovering from the smog caused by the fire at the Duquesa garbage dump. Now it seems to be time for a fire at the Rafey dump. The incidents reflect the negligence on behalf of central and municipal governments in regard to waste management.
On Friday, Santiago de los Caballeros was greeted with the news of a fire at Rafey, the garbage dump that serves the largest city in the central region. With the hard work of the local fire brigades, the fire was put out in the early morning of Saturday, 9 May 2020.
The good news is that the city was mostly spared the smoke and haze produced by the fire thanks to the dominant breezes from the east.
Santiago Mayor Abel Martínez and the newly-elected mayor of the Municipal District of Cienfuegos have been in a bitter dispute over the control and management of the dump that is located in the La Mosca sector of Cienfuegos.
Readers will recall that just last year, the PLD-dominated Congress reapportioned the city limits of Santiago and created a municipal district for Cienfuegos and El Ingenio, now called West Santiago. According to the official reports from the Fire Department, the fire was set by unknown persons late on Friday evening.
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Listin Diario
11 May 2020