No water, no school
STUDENTS at the Jose Marti Technical High School in Twickenham Park, St Catherine were yesterday sent home for the third consecutive school day because of the absence of piped water at the facility.
The school has been without water since Friday because of a lock-off to facilitate work being done by the National Water Commission (NWC), on the Twickenham Park and Central Village water wells.
Charles Buchanan, the NWC’s public relations manager, said yesterday that the commission was not aware that classes at Jose Marti were disrupted because of the NWC’s work in the area. A request, he said, could have been made for water to be trucked to the school.
“If there is an issue of no water then I would expect the school authority to make contact with the NWC so that arrangements could be made for water to be trucked there,” Buchanan told the Observer.
Buchanan said Twickenham Park could experience water lock-offs at different times for the next 20 to 40 days, which he said, was the length of time it would usually take to have the wells rehabilitated.
The work being done, he said, was part of the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) water improvement project.
Buchanan said 19 wells were being rehabilitated in the Greater Spanish Town area and involved the laying of new pipes.
A Jose Marti student told the Observer that last Friday they were dismissed after 10:00 am and yesterday they were sent home at midday. She said they were not told how long the disruption would last for.
“The teachers only tell us to go home because there is no water,” the student said.