When will they ever learn about the Qawa River?

from w
Again and again people complain about the pollution in the Qawa River caused by the Labasa Sugar Mill yet no-one does anything about it.  For years this has been a problem and even a local high school has students taking samples that show how bad it is.  But the clean-up just doesn't happen.  Even cane harvesting season the Qawa River is full of dead fish.
From the Fiji Times:

Concern over dead fish, crabs

Serafina Silaitoga
Friday, August 24, 2012

REPORTS of people collecting dead fish and crabs from a contaminated river in Labasa and selling or eating them has raised the alarm at the Ministry of Health.

Ministry spokesman Peni Namotu said eating the dead fish and crabs from the Qawa river, outside Labasa Town, could result in food poisoning.

He said selling the crabs was a serious issue and people must not sell them at all.

"It is a health risk and we are urging people not to collect them to eat meals because it is a health risk. It is dead in a river and should not be collected at all for meals.

"Residents should keep away from eating the dead seafood because it can cause food poisoning.

"There is also a high risk of water-borne diseases if the dead crabs and fish are eaten."

Batinikama resident Sant Prakash said people tried selling the crabs to him but he refused to buy them.

"It is not safe and the authorities should do something because one man tried selling some crabs to me but I smelt it first and it stank.

"The crabs were also dead and I refused to buy them. People are also taking them to the market to sell and I am concerned about others who might buy them."

Mohammed Idrish, another resident of Batinikama, said even their own animals that used to depend on the river for water no longer drank from it.

"I used to take my cows there before the crushing season started because the river was not in a bad state as what we see today," he said.

"Every time during the harvesting season, this same problem happens and our residential area is polluted with the stench from the river."