Lautoka Shop Owner Concerned With Stench

A clothing shop owner is thinking of closing her shop for a week until the Lautoka City Council addresses the issue of street beggars defecating and urinating in the alley near her shop along Vakabale Street.

The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, said she moved to the shop in July last year.

“We are grateful to the Lautoka City Council because it tries its best to clean the human waste every day but now my customers won’t come into my store because the smell is strong when they enter,” she said.

“We try to close the door, but my staff becomes congested and they can’t eat because of the smell.”

She said members of the public also urinated openly in the alleyway and when asked most said they could not afford to use the public toilets

Lautoka Residents and Ratepayers Association president, Narayan Reddy, said a permanent solution was needed.

“We still see people sitting on the street after curfew hours because where else can they go and I’ve seen a couple of homeless people taken in and sent to prison for a couple of weeks then they’ll come out and repeat the same routine,” he said

“These people need help, so what we need to do is give them proper housing and get them off the street. The money is there so let’s use that and help these people.”

He said previous consultations resulted in public toilet fees  being lowered to twenty cents.

Divisional Police Commander West Senior Superintendent of Police Surend Sami said he was not aware of any complaints regarding this issue.

“Begging is not an issue for the Police, the social welfare need to address it but if there are complaints then we’ll look into it,” he said.

Questions have been sent to the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

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