From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government has called on residents to always obtain building permits from relevant agencies before erecting structures and regularly keep the drains clean to avert flooding.
The Chief of Staff to Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Sani Kila asserted this when he paid an assessment visit to some communities affected by the recent flooding in Chikaji Ward of Sabon Gari Local Government area and Sabuwar Anguwa Magume in Zaria local government Area.
Mallam Sani Kila expressed the heartfelt concerns of Governor Uba Sani to the communities and others ravaged by flooding.
He said that the State Government will do the needful to implement immediate and long-term solutions to the flooding.
He, however, stressed that the residents also have a role to play in mitigating the flooding by not building on waterways and dumping refuse aside streams and channels.
“Investigation has revealed that many of the houses were built without permission from the relevant agencies and this is illegal.
“If we are to continue with measures to curtail flooding in our community, some structures will have to go because they are illegal and obstructing the flow of water, which is one of the factors responsible for flooding.
“The Governor sympathizes with everyone affected by the flood and he has set up a committee to evacuate people from all areas affected by the flood.
“The Committee has also been mandated to provide relief materials and temporary accommodation for the victims.
“Kaduna State has always taken proactive measures to check flooding in the state and I urge residents to cooperate with the state government in its concerted effort to prevent flood by properly disposing of their wastes in designated areas.
“They should also desist from dumping refuse into drains, as well as refrain from erecting structures along waterways and channels.”
At the Sabuwar Anguwa Magume in Zaria local government Area, the Chief of Staff expressed dismay that People visit the stream to scrape sand, and this portrays a danger to the community.
“The government needs to do something here urgently. It is an urgent situation that deserves serious attention because if, for instance, rain falls here, nobody knows what will happen.
” It is not the work of the government, but the communities living around the area must do something urgently to curtail and stop these guys from excavating sand.
“The land is a large area, and the volume of water that passes this area is high, so we must do something, and the government is going to take measures to make sure that this problem is resolved, once and for all,” He said.
