The Kaduna State Government has commenced dredging of 4,000 metres of River Kaduna to expand its capacity and curb perennial flooding in the state.
Speaking at the flag-off yesterday, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Mrs Linda Yakubu, said the project would cover Barnawa, Living Faith axis and other flood-prone communities along the river.
She explained that the exercise would be carried out with a swamp buggy procured by the state government on the approval of Governor Uba Sani.
Yakubu said the swamp buggy, first inaugurated earlier this year, marked the state’s first independent flood-control intervention, adding that it had already been deployed in June around Airport Road and Kutungari, easing water flow and protecting investments in the area.
She further said tributaries emptying into River Kaduna would also be cleared.
Yakubu warned residents against dumping refuse in waterways, stressing that mobile courts would sanction offenders when monthly sanitation resumes in October.
On his part, the assistant chief disaster risk reduction officer at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ikramat Muazu, described the move as a vital preventive step that would save lives and reduce relief costs.
Also, Michael Balai-Ibrahim of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said the swamp buggy would help remove sandbars and debris, while NIWA continues regulating river users and enforcing safety rules.
The assistant director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Rahama Suleiman, urged residents to support the state government in mitigating heavy flooding as predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.
