NEDC evacuates 300,000 meters of drainage in Maiduguri metropolis
By Tada Juthan, Maiduguri
The North East Development Commission (NEDC) has desilted and evacuated 300,000 meters of drainages in Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State.
The evacuated drainage facilities are in Bulumkutu, Gwange, and Fezzan communities, including the new Government Reservation Areas (GRA) of the metropolis.
Unveiling the mitigation measures against flooding in Maiduguri, NEDC’s Managing Director, Mohammed Alkali, disclosed: “We’ve targeted the desilting and evacuation of about one million meters of drainages in the six state capitals in the Northeast region.
Besides the evacuation of drainages, he added that the collected refuse and other waste from communities will be recycled and processed into wealth.
Alkali noted that the ongoing “desilting and evacuation exercise” by youths will not only mitigate food in Maiduguri but also ensure sanitation and hygiene in the affected various communities.
On the youths’ health risks, he said, “The engaged youths were each provided with pairs of working boots, hand gloves, and face masks,” stating that working tools will prevent them from contracting any disease like cholera and other water-borne diseases.
Speaking on the long-term solutions to flooding, he said that a consultant has been engaged to provide a comprehensive solution to the Bulumkutu perennial flooding.
He hinted that the consultant would construct a meter-wide drainage facility that could empty the flood waters into the River Ngadda.
