Erosion: Anambra Moves To Protect N120m Property

In a bid to save lives and property worth N120 million, the Anambra government has taken steps to reclaim the land damaged by erosion at Omagbe Estate along the Onitsha-Enugu road.

Our orrespondent of who visited the site on Wednesday, reports that erosion has cut-off a section of the Onitsha-Enugu road.

The Tide further reports that a three-storey building close to the erosion site would have collapsed, if officials of the state Ministry of Environment had not intervened.

Embankments were built round the building in an attempt to save it from sudden collapse.

Mr Linus Anioke, a resident of the building, said that the ministry’s intervention had saved the building from falling.

“If not for Gov. Peter Obi’s intervention, this building – estimated at N80 million – and these cars and other property worth more than N40 million, would have been lost to this erosion.

“At least 42 people are leaving in the eight flats that make-up the building. This is to show you the extent of damage that might take place,’’ he added.

Dr. Michael Egbebike, Commissioner for Environment, said that the gully erosion was ‘so overwhelming’ to attract the emergency palliative intervention of the government; while the federal ministry of works and World Bank had been notified on it.

“Yes, we are working actually on the site; we are doing works to save the building; because erosion threatened the building and then collapsed the roads.

“The federal government has been alerted because it is a federal road; so it is no more just an erosion project; it is both erosion and a road project.

“So the state is working outside of the road to save the house if we can and control the erosion; if you notice, we are the one doing the stone-pinching work.

“It is overwhelming; we have also invited the World Bank and also that Omagbe is actually one of the ones selected for the World Bank intervention before it went as it went.”

He, however, explained that the State Executive Council had approved N150 million to address the emergency situation that had arisen.