Suva Market vendors and kiosk operators were left without tap water from Saturday morning until yesterday afternoon.

Relevant authorities are working on fixing a burst main on a line that feeds water to the market.

Suva market kiosk operator Avinash Ram yesterday raised concerns on the health and safety of market vendors and the general public.

“When we came in at 6am on Saturday, there was no water at all in this area,” Mr Ram said.

“The washroom was in a pathetic state and knowing that there was no water, the council left the washroom open,” he said.

“On Saturday it was a busy day here and everyone kept using the bathroom even when there was no water. It left it in a very bad state and the stench coming out of it was really bad.”

He claimed that the washroom was also open on Sunday and that council workers had only cordoned off the washrooms yesterday morning.

The Suva City Council while responding to queries said they were doing their level best to supply the vendors with tank water to the crucial areas in the market.

The council had stated that tank water was part of its back up system.

“The washrooms are very much taken care of, we have back up that is supplying water, and we really can’t do much because it was unexpected. We are taking care of the health and safety measures,” the council added.

WAF

Water Authority of Fiji Chief Operating Officer Seru Soderberg said the burst main was identified by the WAF team on Sunday night.

“It was a major burst, it’s on the line that feeds the market,” he said.

“So the team has carried out repair works as of lunch hour today (yesterday) and we are working on the restoration of water.”

He confirms water trucks were deployed to assist with vendors on water supply.

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