Colin Steer, Associate Editor
WHEN THE Long Mountain Country Club housing develop-ment was being built in 2001 in St. Andrew adjacent to Beverly Hills and overlooking the Liguanea Plains, several environmentalists and civic-minded citizens led a vigorous and ultimately futile campaign against the project.
Their main area of concern was that the natural fauna and flora of the mountainside that help to keep the country's and in particular the Corporate Area's ecological system functioning in good order would be endangered never to recover. Since then, an expansive community of over 500 units comprising basic two and three bedroom townhouses have been developed complete with a community swimming pool and club house, etc. Many owners have done additions to their units restricted only by the covenants governing the aesthe-tics of the community from building anything onto or redesigning the front and side of their houses. Houses which were bought at the outset for between $4.5 million and just under $9 million are now commanding prices from $9 million to $20 million.
THE 'BHUTTO' MENTALITY
Many of the owners and renter/occupiers drive the more expensive SUVs, pick-ups and top of the line sedans, etc. Perhaps, influenced by the growing popularity of Home and Garden Televison (HGTV) on the cable channels and their own sense of style, some have acquired the services of interior decorators to make their homes oases of comfort - the walls painted in hitherto unheard of colours of mango, rust and teal, etc. Some have converted the front patches of their houses into little gardens that are a riot of colour. They take or have their helpers take their little shitszu puppies for walks with all the pride of mothers pushing their babies in prams.
And yet for all the appearance of a decent upper middle class neighbourhood, some it seems, are determined to reinforce the observation that a 'bhutto' in a SUV on top of the mountain is still a 'bhutto'. From the foot of the hill just after the Pines of Karachi all the way up to a few metres before reaching the security post entrance to the 'Country Club' - small and large bags of garbage are being discarded along the hillside. Big garbage bags that have clearly been set upon by dogs, showing empty corned beef tins, egg boxes and other Styrofoam containers, the remains from the fast food restaurants, plastic bottles of every description, broken and rusty ironing boards, baby strollers, at least one small refrigerator, bags which once contained cement filler, large cartons from which were taken stoves and refrigerators - litter the mountain side in pockets.
CRASS NASTINESS
Given the size of some of the bags and mounds of rubbish, there is no reason to believe this is the handiwork of domestic helpers, carpenters and masons working in or on the houses. Some of the rubbish is dumped near to the road, others a little way off into the bushes, but clearly visible from the road. Some residents - perhaps only a few - are leaving their well-appointed houses in their 'souped-up' vehicles to demon-strate a crass nastiness.
It is, of course, possible that residents from down below in the Pines of Karachi are driving more than 500 metres up the hill to dump garbage - but this seems an unlikely scenario.
The environmental dangers resulting from this 'creativity' is beginning to become more evident. Some of the rubbish is now being washed down by heavy rains to accumulate at points where the storm drain covers intersect with the pavement. If this is not addressed soon, there will be blockages and flooding posing greater danger especially for the people who live below in the Karachi Pines area. The irony is that the community is served regularly, at least twice per week, by the trucks coming to collect rubbish.
It is hard to imagine what good purpose any campaign for civic pride would serve these adults who have acquired the means to live well and better than most. This is not a governmental problem. They are just plain nasty.
