Trader Urges Participation In Sanitation Exercise

Port Harcourt residents have been asked to take the weekly and monthly environmental sanitation exercise seriously to prevent flooding and the spread of disease in the city.

A trader at Creek Road Market, Mr Emmanuel Idams, gave the advice during last Thursday’s sanitation exercise at the market.

Idams urged residents, especially traders to cooperate with the state Environmental Sanitation Authority and other government organs incharge of sanitation to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment.

According to him, “government alone cannot clean our environment.

Government cannot come to your house and clean your drainage. You have to do your own part. If you clean your surroundings and I clean mine, our environment and the entire state will certainly be clean.”

He condemned the non-challent attitude of some traders towards the clean up exercise, stressing that such attitude would do no one any good.

Idams decried the indiscriminate disposal of refuse into the drainages as that would  contribute to the blockage of the drainages which would inturn lead to flooding.

“The rains are here and a lot of areas in Port Harcourt have started experiencing flooding and I believe the situation will be worse when the rains become heavier if we don’t stop the habit of throwing refuse into the drainages.”

“He also called on the Environmental Sanitation  Authority to ensure prompt evacuation of refuse from the receptacles, especially after every clean up exercises, as well as proper education of people on sanitation, personal hygiene and waste management to keep the environment clean and healthy.