The Kano State Government has called on the residents to stop dumping waste in drains to prevent flooding in the state.
Mr. Mustapha Mohammed, the Director of Pollution Control in the State’s Ministry of Environment, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Friday.
Mohammed said: “The high rate at which people indiscriminately dump waste into drainage systems is alarming, therefore causing a lot of flooding in most of the metropolitan areas.
“The interlocking by the sides of many major roads, especially at Zoo Road, causes a lot of floods because it reduces the amount of water the soil can suck.
“When residents dump waste into drainage systems, it reduces the capacity of the drains to carry the water, therefore leading to flooding.
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“When a drain is constructed, in most cases the volume of water to pass through it is not considered, hence, the size of a drain also contributes to flooding in most areas.’’
According to the director, there is a need for the people to avoid depositing waste in drainage systems so as to keep our environments clean and free from flooding.
“The State Government in collaboration with industries has primary treatment plants within the various companies where they treat water before discharging them.
“This will purify the water to a certain level and also go into the proposed secondary treatment plant for complete treatment before the water can be used for irrigation or related cases.
“Flood is caused by either heavy rain, improper disposal of waste into drains, or building houses on the waterways”. he said.
According to him, the state government is doing its part to prevent flooding in the state.
Mohammed said that the public should adopt the habit of clearing their drains even before the rainy season.
According to him, for some years, the state government has been making efforts to see that the waste produced in the state are recycled, but they have not reached a logical conclusion yet.