DRAINAGE BLOCKAGE: LAGOS DECLARES ZERO TOLERANCE ON INDISCRIMINATE STACKING OF BUILDING MATERIALS

Henceforth, builders in Lagos State who indiscriminately stack heap of sand, gravel and other materials on the road, pedestrian walkways or drain paths would face the wrath of the law. This is because such illegal practice was the cause of constant flooding whenever it rained in the state habited by 18million people. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Aderemi Ibirogba who gave the hint in Lagos said the government’s clampdown became necessary because of the lackadaisical attitude of some construction site workers and owners who are in the habit of stacking heap of sand on the road and pedestrian walkways, without minding the effect of this on the environment. He said government would henceforth seal up properties of culprits in addition to prosecuting the owners. Ibirogba bemoaned the practice of stacking building materials on the road and drain parts because owners of such properties do not usually bother to clear the remnants after the completion of their work, thus leaving such remnants to pose environmental nuisance for residents of the state, an act considered unacceptable by the government. The Commissioner therefore appealed to residents to discontinue this act and as a matter of importance abide by the rules and regulations governing building construction in the state to avoid sanctions. He explained that officials of the state were already deployed to fish out such properties and their owners from all over the state, adding that “we have enough men and the right equipment to achieve results in this regard”. It would be recalled that the state building laws makes it an offence for anybody to embark on any construction without making adequate arrangement to stack materials within the premises of the site. However, contrary to the law, builders now stack materials on the road and drain paths without any consideration for the environmental impacts. Some even discharge materials even right on the middle of the road, drain paths and pedestrian walkways. He was tough on people engaging in such practice because, as he said “The aftermath of July 10 flooding where buildings were taken over by the flood leaving the occupants homeless and properties destroyed in the state, was better imagined and we don’t pray for such to happen again because we as a government values the lives and properties of the residents who wholeheartedly gave us their mandate in the April 2011 general elections”. In this regard, he said, “our position as a government is that we would no longer condone act capable of causing untold hardship to the good people and residents of the state and anybody found indulging in the indiscriminate dumping of left-over sands in our gutters, which ultimately end up in blockage of the drainages across the state would be sanctioned and face the music. personally, i guess it's about time this is done. That is, hoping that the enforcement follows through also.