Sand and stone on the bridge in the Alceseca area obstruct the stream channel.

Sofía Medeles.- Several streams from La Canacinta to La Cristina in west Ajijic are still clogged with debris as a result of the landslides that occurred in October 2021.

When Semanario Laguna toured the  area recently, it was observed that there  are still boulders and debris, covered with earth blocking drainage channels and streets after the landslide.

In La Cristina, the creek bridge is filled with large stones.

Neighbors in the area said that they fear the obstructions could cause future flooding that could affect the houses closest to the watercourses.María, a resident who lives a few houses away from the creek that runs through La Canacinta was worried.

«Apart from the fact that the creek has been narrowed, it has not even been cleaned, on the south side of the road, it is very even, so, if several heavy rains fall, it could overflow. On the upper part of the road, it is not even a meter and a half wide for the water to flow. If the water flows strongly, it will move the debris, and God knows where it will end up, which could affect the people on the street of La Canacinta,» she shared.

Another neighbor, José, commented that he is not only concerned about the blockage, but also about the dust generated by the traffic, which should be another important point to be considered by the authorities in order to resume and speed up the cleaning works. 

«With this disease that we are going through (Covid-19), it is unhealthy that we are breathing dust, because it weakens our lungs even more, and can put us in a delicate health situation,» she said.  

Likewise, Lourdes, who lives next to the La Canacinta stream, and has a property in La Cristina, close to another of the disaster points, expressed that, although it seems that the rainy season is still far away, public works like this are not a one-day project, so they should get down to work.

La Canacinta creek, outside the Los Alebrijes subdivision, has less than five feet of opening.

«It is not just one creek that is like this, there are many and several with serious clogging. It is of little use to clean only the parts on the south side of the highway, if there is no water flow under the bridges,» said Lourdes.

Maximiliano Macías Arceo, the Ajijic acting delegate i, commented that some of the streams have already been widened, however, they are still in the process of getting permit approval so they can move in the machinery that will be necessary to clear the waterways in the town, especially in the western part of the delegation.

The director of Social Communication, Elizabeth Oropeza Silva, commented that since November, they have been pushing the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) to provide them with the appropriate machinery to carry out the clearing of the ditches, which she claimed, need to do the maintenance from the road to the foot of the hill.

Translated by Maryanne Marble