Writing By Aliyu Moraki; Editing By Yusuf and Hajara Muhammad Asheer
An environmental expert in waste management based in nasarawa state Mr. Abdullahi Bukhari Nata’ala has described climate change as a global challenges which need collective effort to address the menace.
He stated this while speaking with journalists on the recent flood in lafia, as a result of heavy downpour which submerged several houses.
Mr. Bukhari Nata’ala said, Nasarawa State would not be excluded from the challenge, while calling on the government to declare emergency on flood prone areas especially the dumping of refuse in drainages.
According to him, people mostly are in the habit of using drainages as dumps side especially during raining season which causes blockage resulted in flooding as such affect residential places.
The Expert said, there are areas that need government intervention and appealing to the state Urban Development Board NUDB, ACREsAL and NEWMAP to come to the rescue of people in lafia by constructing wide drainages that would be containing the water to enable it have free flow.
Mr. Bukhari Nata’ala who is also a governorship flag bearer under the platform of Action Alliance-A A expressed concern over the attitude of some people playing politics with the incident and called on the state assembly to sponsor an executive bill to make law prohibiting the use of drainage as illegal dumps side.
In an interview with the Managing Director Nasarawa State Urban Development Board NUDB Engr Mohammad Yahaya Wada said, the government has commenced a reassessment and redesign drainage system in lafia following a heavy flood that submerged houses and cut off the federal highway in the metropolis.
He explained that the incident appeared to be a return-period flood that was not captured in the initial design of the town’s drainage system, adding that, the flooding had provided them with an opportunity to improve its existing flood-control designs and develop effective drainage infrastructure for the state capital.
Engr Mohammad Yahaya Wada said the government would undertake more detailed assessments of the affected areas to determine the appropriate interventions and improve the capacity of the drainage network.
The Managing Director also confirmed that the culvert along the federal highway near the College of Agriculture, lafia, was overwhelmed by the flood water, resulting in the temporary disruption of traffic on the major route.
The official advised residents living along waterways and in flood-prone areas to temporarily relocate, warning that further rainfall could worsen the situation.
COV/Aliyu Muraki/Lafia
