Ramco and Hamieh squabble over responsibility for recent flooding

BEIRUT — Ramco, the company contracted to collect solid waste in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, on Thursday responded to caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh's criticisms after a second spate of street flooding in these areas in two weeks, saying the problem of roads flooding "did not start today."

On Wednesday, Hamieh posted a video on Twitter that showed sidewalks along the Dbayeh highway filled with garbage, and wrote, "I just need someone to explain to me what the solution is with the garbage collection company in the area."

"We repeat, if the garbage enters the rain sewers, it will lead to a problem …," Hamieh added, referring to the fact that when drains are blocked and it rains heavily, roads flood.

In a statement, Ramco replied to Hamieh: "We wish that the minister had asked us or the Council for Development and Reconstruction or the the Environment Ministry the question directly … he would have gotten the answer and solution immediately, if he actually wanted it." 

The company also claimed that violations on river banks and roads that cause flooding "did not take place today" — a likely reference to years-old drainage obstructions caused by the construction of buildings and infrastructure — and added that the problems currently being experienced "are not the responsibility of the garbage collection companies."

On Wednesday night, the Civil Defense said on Twitter that following heavy rains during the day it had rescued two citizens who were stuck in their cars on the Ghazir coastal road and the Jounieh highway, respectively. 

Previously, on Oct. 24, intense rainfall severely flooded large swathes of Lebanon's coastal areas, leading to the death of an elderly man with a disability. In a press conference the following day, Hamieh distanced himself and his ministry from full responsibility for what had caused the floods on public highways, blaming the two companies assigned for waste collection and sweeping.