Poor Evacuation Of Refuse Worries Onitsha Residents

Residents of Onitsha and its environs in Anambra have decried the near collapse of refuse evacuation in the commercial city.

Our correspondent reports that the inability of the relevant agencies, including the State Environmental Sanitation Agency, the local government councils and refuse disposal contractors, to clear the wastes has led to the development of heaps of refuse across the city.

A check around Onitsha by our correspondent showed that some of the uncleared refuse heaps have started flowing into adjoining gutters and blocking the drainage systems.

Most of the dump sites and receptacles at strategic locations on the streets, state and federal roads have been filled-up for more than a week without evacuation, while the refuse from the residents keep coming.

However, residents have started creating unauthorised dumpsites, especially along the federal roads while some of the dumpsites are usually burnt, which some environmentalists describe as “an unfriendly way to handle refuse”.

At the Onitsha-Owerri road axis, new refuse dumpsites had sprung-up within every three electricity poles.

At the Bridge-Head, near the River Niger, two central receptacles placed along the federal road are being set ablaze always while a huge heap of refuse littered around the unattended receptacles.

At the Onitsha-Enugu road axis, huge heaps of refuse are stationed at major bus stops, including the MCC, Nkpor Junction and New Tyre.

Reacting to the ugly development, Mr Joseph Udeh, a tricycle operator along the Onitsha-Owerri road, said that it was unfortunate that the government could not maintain a clean environment in Onitsha.

“People judge from what is on ground. As you can see, we have dirt and refuse dump-ridden environment.

“The government recently appointed environmental tax collectors to get money from us, yet there has not been any commensurate service to the people.’’

A trader at Nkpor, Mrs Roseline Osakwe, noted that Governor Peter Obi’s administration has strived to impact on many sectors but the environment.

“This is one area that people can easily observe quickly and it should be given the needed attention it deserves.

“Many people, especially visitors and people on transit from Onitsha to other places, make negative comments about the state due to the fact that these refuse dumps are not attend to.’’

A resident of Omagba Estate, Mr Kenechukwu Udemba, urged the government to re-design its refuse evacuation plan for Onitsha and get more equipment and committed staff for refuse evacuation.

However, Laga International Waste Management Limited, which had entered into a contractual agreement with the Federal Government and the Anambra State Government to evacuate the refuse in Onitsha, said that it was having some logistic challenges.

Supervisor of the company, Mr Austin Ogbole, said that most of the company’s vehicles and equipment had gone for routine maintenance due to over use.