Sand and gravel stores cluttering up QC’s sidewalks

I’m just wondering if no government agency is tasked with cleaning up the dirt left on sidewalks by gravel and sand stores in Metropolitan Manila. When I go around Quezon City (e.g., Tandang Sora and Congressional Avenue), I see sidewalks that are littered with stones and sand from these stores, of which there are many in this city.

The situation especially happens when a store, for instance, loads up gravel and sand (which can happen many times in a day) on a truck parked in front of the store, along the sidewalk. The gravel and sand leftovers that fall off during the loading are just left on the sidewalk, when the store can easily use a broom or shovel to clean up its mess. Sadly, I’ve observed none of the stores doing this cleanup. Thus, the litter is just there, and when the rain or strong wind come, gravel and sand fall into the drainage, further adding to the silt which is one of the causes of floods.

I hope that government officials, even at the barangay level, can look into this non-environment friendly practice of gravel and sand stores.

—MCS Abis,

zsyle@yahoo.com