writing by Isma’il Adamu; Editing by Abubakar Hamza.
Residents of Katsina metropolis have expressed dismay over the way sewage has taken over IBB Way, the busiest road in Katsina town which extends from the Kano-Katsina road and links with the Katsina Emir’s palace.
Being the face of Katsina, and the oldest and most prominent road in the town, IBB Way has along it the Federal Secretariat, Katsina State Secretariat, banks, insurance companies, schools, political party secretariats, offices of key organizations, car sale companies, supermarkets, plazas, corner shops and other businesses premises.
Abubakar Ali who owns a shop at a plaza along IBB Way described the refuse dumpsites along the road as an eyesore which dents the image of the once clean metropolitan road.
“Please call the government’s attention, this place has turned to a refuse dumpsite, the sewage bins are very few and the people responsible for emptying them don’t do it regularly.
“Sometimes it takes months before they come and empty the bins and it attracts a lot of flies and fowl smell, it affects our business very negatively”he said.
Another business owner, Salisu Malan, expressed the same concern, pointing out the last time the waste bin near his shop was emptied was seven weeks ago.
“In the past, this refuse bin was emptied every week, on Saturdays, and the people that emptied the them also swept the place, but now the sewage bins have rusted due to negligence and the bins are too few”.
“This area is supposed to have five sewage bins but there is only one for the whole community, now flies have taken over our business premises”, he lamented.
For Hamisu Abdullahi, the health risk posed by the refuse dumpsites is the most disturbing aspect, considering how the sewage is left to decompose for weeks sometimes months.
“These places were not refuse dump sites before, they were sewage bins that were emptied every week and the places fumigated with chemicals, now they don’t empty the bins and they don’t fumigate the area, and it is not just IBB Way, it is all over the town.
“These are decomposed waste materials including food mixed with plastic and leather waste, the rain washes the waste into drainages and into people’s houses.
“This is dangerous to human health, it can cause typhoid, cholera or diarrhea and another danger is how the dump sites are exposed to open defecation, government should do something about this urgently”, Abdullahi pleaded.
These residents urged the Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Radda, to save the situation by directing the relevant agencies to provide more sewage bins, roadside dustbins and incinerators along IBB Way and other parts of Katsina metropolis.
They also called on the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to live up to its responsibility of ensuring a clean and hygienic environment across the state.
Isma’il Adamu.
