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By Maduka Nweke
Communities in Orumba North, Anambra State are at risking extinction if nothing is done by authorities to check menace of natural disasters bedeviling the area. The area is prone to the effect of denudation and the matter get worsened during the rainy season.
According to one of the residents of the area, Chief Austine Mbah, one of the stakeholders in Umunze, successive Governments of Anambra State have not relaxed their actions in the direction of checking the scourge.
He said that government at the centre has got a lot to do in this regards especially the ones that are of higher magnitude. “Government at the center will not only wrestle lands that belong to the states but will not come to their rescue when there is disaster of this magnitude. It is a matter of negligence,”he said.
“With the current rainy season heightening the effects of gully erosion in most communities in Anambra State, the state House of Assembly has urged the state and federal governments to urgently direct relevant authorities to reduce the menace. There are over 1000 active erosion sites in most of the 181 communities in the state, with some villages already submerged and the residents relocated to their neighbours,” he noted.
For instance, the ravaging erosion at Umuabiama Village, Ajali in Orumba North local government area has forced the member representing the area in the House of Assembly, Mr Emeka Aforka to table a motion on the floor of the legislature under matters of urgent public importance.
According to Aforka, the gully erosion at Umuabiama had destroyed buildings and other property and rendered many occupants of the community homeless. “The situation needs immediate action to safeguard life and property and people residing in the affected areas.
“It is worrisome that some buildings are already on the verge of being destroyed by the ravaging erosion. If no stringent measure is taken to check the menace, more villages will be washed away soon. “The situation needs immediate action to safeguard life and property and people residing in the affected areas.
