Beckles: Dispose garbage carefully

She said too often people dumped their garbage at places that are most convenient to them, without consideration the effects on the environment.

She was speaking at a clean up campaign organised by the Rotary Club of Piarco at Arena, Talparo yesterday.

She said dumping garbage at Arena, will affect the quality of water.

“They will destroy the best eco system.”

The minister promised to have the population educated on the importance of the Arena Dam.

She said Litter wardens will soon be seen in the area to try to stop the illegal dumping of refuse.

Beckles said some people did not know the value of what they had, adding that people from all over the world visited Arena to explore the natural flora and fauna.

She appealed, “do not dump recklessly, as it impacts negatively on the environment. We want to conserve the watershed, to provide forest cover for wild life and to restore the natural eco system.”

Deva Sharma, Presi-dent of the Piarco Rotary Club, said the initiative of the Club was to clean-up the Arena Forest, because of the significance of its flora and fauna that exists close to the Dam, which is a major source of portable water for the population of North Trinidad.

The Rotary hopes to create a strong public awareness of the need for a clean environment and preservation of the natural forests of TT.

Assisting in the clean-up project were members of the Ministry of Public Utilities and Environ-ment, Forestry Division and Solid Waste Manage-ment Company Ltd (SWMCOL).