Operation clean up!

The Kingstown Central Market has a new feel, a refreshed look and smell and, most importantly, is more hygienic, thanks to the efforts of persons who traded in their Easter weekend holiday to engage in a major clean up operation.{{more}}

Vendors whose produce had been stored in the old meat market moved back into Central Market on Wednesday, April 15, much to their delight. The scheduled date of April 14 was not met since more clean-up work continued throughout that day.

Despite the slight setback, the joy of the vendors to be back at their stalls was evident on their faces. One such elated vendor said that she loved how the placed felt since it was cleaned. “I can’t explain it, but I know it just feel really different,” she stated. Another vendor, Roslyn Bute, who operates at stall B29, stated that she welcomed the move to have the market fully cleaned. “I like what Minister Francis and his team are doing to help keep the market clean and I hope it can continue,” Bute said.

The operation, spearheaded by Ministry of Health, the Physical Planning Unit, the Solid Waste Management Unit and the Kingstown Town Board, was geared towards ridding the market of rodents and other pests. The cleaning exercise commenced on Thursday, April 9, with vendors vacating their stalls so that the ground floor could be fumigated. Other activities undertaken over the weekend included power washing of the stalls, draining of the basement, painting, power scrubbing of the floors and repairing the washrooms.

Deputy Warden of the Kingstown Town Board, Benjamin Haynes, told Searchlight that he was satisfied with the efforts over the weekend, and the results were a testament to all the hard work put into the clean up. “I am happy with the response from the vendors especially, who can now operate in a more conducive environment to sell their agricultural produce,” Haynes said. The Deputy Warden indicated that it was a mountainous task to clean the market over one weekend as the facility had never been cleaned for the 11 years since the doors were opened.

In an effort to keep the market clean, Haynes mentioned that routine searches of items being brought into the market by vendors would be conducted from now on. He implored vendors to clean their agricultural produce before bringing them to the market. He also said that the Town Board is moving towards having the clean up exercise annually.

Meantime, Minister with responsibility for Physical Planning, Julian Francis, commended persons on doing a fantastic job over the weekend and urged vendors to try their best to maintain the cleanliness of the market.(KW)