The Kano State Government has announced plans to conduct mass desilt and drain clearance to control flooding and protect the environment.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Dr Kabiru Getso, said this while inspecting the monthly sanitation exercise on Saturday in Kano.
Getso said the government was collaborating with the development and community based organisations to carry out the exercise in Kano metropolis and other major towns across the state.
He said the exercise was designed to desilt drains and clear waste to facilitate easy flow of water and control perennial flooding in the state.
The commissioner said the state government in partnership with MAMA Initiative, an NGO, cleared waste and desilt drains at Tarauni and Rimi markets in Kano metropolis.
According to him, the desilt exercise will be conducted in all the 44 local government areas of the state before the commencement of the rainy season.
Getso revealed that two filling stations and a perishable market in Fagge and Dala LGAs were sealed for violation of the monthly environmental exercise.
The commissioner, who expressed concern over non-participation in the exercise by some residents of the state, said that the trend posed serious threat to the environment and public health.
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Getso blamed the trade union in the market for their inability to keep a clean environment, warning that the government will condone the act.
“The management of the filling stations and trade union must ensure that their premises are sanitised and drains desilted to safeguard public health,” he said.
According to him, the state government has dedicated last Saturday of every month for Monthly Environmental Sanitation Exercise in the state.
Getso said the measure was to protect the environment; sanitise markets, motor parks, offices and other business premises, to ensure that financial transactions and business activities were conducted in a sanitary manner without endangering life.
He said the Sanitation Committee set up by the ministry had visited markets, streets and motor parks as part of the exercise.
While commending the members of the committee for their dedication, Getso enjoined residents of the state to keep a clean environment and shun indiscriminate dumping of waste on water ways.
Also, Mr Opeyemi Akinfaderin, the Project Coordinator, MAMA Initiative, said the organisation was partnering with the Kano State Government on environmental sanitation.
Akinfaderin said the government, through the Refuse Evacuation and Management Board (REMASAB), donated protective kits to the organisation to enable it to conduct waste and drain clearance in many communities in the state. (NAN)
