Gov Dapo Abiodun
Fielding questions from newsmen in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Abiodun Balogun, said the palliatives included fixing failed bridges, clearing of waterways and dredging of the water channels.
These, he said, were meant to bring temporary relief and succour to the people before permanent solution was found.
Balogun, who described the downpour as "massive and with great adverse effects", said Engineers from Works and Infrastructure Ministry and staff from his Ministry have assessed the extent of damage done by the flooding of last weekend, adding that the report would be useful in finding lasting solutions to the problem.
The Commissioner noted that dredging was currently going on in 16 places across the state, saying that dredging of waterway from Isale-Oja to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library up to the Orange Valley Estate, in Abeokuta, was on-going.
He said the damage caused by the flood, would have been uncontrollable, but for continuous dredging of waterways.
He assured residents that the state government would continue to do the needful to find solution to the issues as they come up.
On measures that would bring lasting solution to the perennial flooding in the state capital, Hon Balogun said regular dredging, conversion of some culverts which have outlived their usefulness to bridges and distilling of drainages to allow for free flow of water whenever it rains are being considered.
He said though the present administration was not interested in demolishing people's houses, some structures must give way. But before we demolish any building, which of course must be as a last resort, we will talk to those whose structures are around the canal, on the need to remove them.
The Commissioner appealed to residents of the state to properly dispose their refuse and desist from dumping them on waterways, to minimize the effects of flooding.
No comments:
Post a Comment