Residents of Tambari Housing Estate in Bauchi metropolis have called on both the Bauchi State government and the Federal Government to urgently come to their aid by tackling the erosion threatening their existence in the area.
The call was made on behalf of the residents of the estate by the community leader, Abdullahi Shayibu, ward heads of Tambari Phases 1 and 2, Dr U.U Ningi and Nuuman Umar respectively, while addressing journalists on Tuesday.
The residents’ leaders stated that the housing estate was being endangered by erosion, pointing out that it is high time government rescued them from the menace.
According to them, major parts of the estate is being taken over by erosion, adding that the situation worsens during every rainy season.
The leaders informed that the environmental hazard is caused by sand excavators who dredge the stream that passes through the area, known as Rafin Tambari, continuously.
This, according to them, leads to the expansion of the stream’s channel, noting that this results in submerging of houses during the raining season.
They, therefore, implored the state and federal governments to quickly tackle the erosion problem in the estate.
“The erosion is threatening the whole estate in recent times as plots of lands and houses nearby are submerged annually due to the large volume of water that passes through.
“Natural and human factors are gradually worsening the situation, thereby, leading to expansion of the water channel.
“We attribute the problems to the activities of tipper and pick-up drivers who evacuate sand from the stream for construction purposes while all efforts to address the trends have proved abortive,” Shayibu said.
He advised the Bauchi State government to apply for funds from the Federal Government’s ecological funds with a view to tackling the environmental problem being faced by residents of the estate located on the Jos-Bauchi highway.
