Abuja – The broken sewer-line at the main entrance of Utako Motor Park is constituting a threat to the park operators and passersby in the area, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
NAN correspondents in Abuja, who visited the area on Thursday, report that waste water, mixed with human faeces, was being discharged on to the road which was threatening public health.
Some respondents, who spoke with NAN, said that such development was causing a serious health hazard to the immediate environment.
Mrs Chidi Ibe, Manager of the park told NAN that she had made several attempts to discuss the matter with the board to salvage the situation.
“The leakage occurred since the month of August, I have written a letter to Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and there was no response.
“After about two weeks, I wrote a reminder and their response was that they cannot effect any change except it was authorised by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“So I wrote another letter to the Permanent Secretary about three weeks now, since then nothing has happened and we are still waiting for them to do something about it,“ she said.
Mr Victor Uko, a passerby and a concerned citizen, told NAN that sewer-line leakages should be checked to safe the public from avoidable diseases.
“I have been noticing that during raining period like this, sewer lines in some parts of Abuja will discharge their contents to the environment, which means there is something wrong in the sewage system.
“In fact, this is making two or four sewer-lines I have observed in this type of situation; the concerned authority should do something about it by correcting the system, it`s an eye sore before strangers here.’’
Uko, therefore, called on the authorities of the AEPB for urgent attention to arrest the situation and save the health of those who are working at the park and passerby.
Also speaking with NAN, Miss Edak Umoh, a petty trader, advised AEPB authorities to take precautionary measures against broken sewer-line leakages.
She said that the sewer lines, which she claimed were constructed during the early years of the FCT, needed adequate maintenance to make them function well.
“The odour from the sewage is affecting the people in this environment, “ Umoh said.
In the board’s response, an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the permanent secretary had approved that something be done to remedy the situation.
He said that the board could not take any action yet due to paucity of fund.
“We have noticed so many environmental issues that requires a lot of fund but we cannot work on them because we don’t have the fund to do the job,’’ he said. (NAN)
