The Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) has warned Calabar residents against dumping of refuse in drains to avoid flooding and erosion in the state.
Dr Fidelis Anukwa, the state coordinator of NEWMAP, stated this on Thursday while inspecting ongoing desilting of gutters in Calabar Municipal and Calabar South Local Government Areas.
Anukwa said that the project is funded by the World Bank in collaboration with the Cross River State government, under the NEWMAP project.
“We are approaching the rainy season; the essence of desilting is to open up the drains for the water to flow freely to the right channels.
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“What they are doing here is that after the desilting, they will evacuate the silt to the dumpsite.
“NEWMAP is environmental security and stability, our focus is to keep the gutters free to serve the purpose for which they were created,” he said.
Anukwa advised residents in the state to keep their immediate environment clean and to always dump their waste at the designated waste bins.
Also Speaking, Dr Inyang Asibong, the State Commissioner for International Development Cooperation, said the collaboration with the NEWMAP was the best way to prevent flooding and erosion.
Asibong, who is the Chairman of the NEWMAP Project Steering Committee, said desilting was the primary way of preventing flooding and erosion.
According to her, if the gutters are not desilted ahead of the rainy season, some areas within Calabar metropolis will continue to witness massive flooding.
“The desilting is in two ways; apart from delisting the gutters, we are also ensuring that the by-products are evacuated to the dumpsite to completely allow running water to flow freely into the channels.
“This project is going on simultaneously in all communities within Calabar metropolis because we have many areas in Calabar that are prone to flooding,” she said.