Nsukka Residents Dump Refuse Indiscriminately As Authorities Fail To Provide Dumpsites

Residents of Nsukka in Enugu State, Sunday, attributed the indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the streets of the university community to high-handedness of environmental taskforce of Nsukka Local Government authorities and the council’s failure to provide appropriate dumpsites.

THE WHISTLER reports that refuse dumps dot every nook and cranny of streets in the metropolis, with most of the perpetrators engaging in the act at night.

“We wake up every morning to see refuse dumped along this street,” says Mrs Chinonye Eze, a resident of Okinyi Street along Enugu Road. “You hardly catch them because they operate at night. It is disgusting.”

It was gathered that hitherto, the refuse was being dumped by the roadside where they were collected by the environmental authorities from time to time.

According to Osita Omeje, a trader at Fem Park junction, “There was a time refuse took over major roads of Nsukka for many weeks. They were evacuated, and the authorities banned dumping of refuse along the roads. They did not specify alternatives. So, people began to dump refuse in gutters, nearby bushes and on roads, especially at night and when it rained.”

A woman who did not mention her name, alleged that the taskforce was extorting those they arrest.

“They will hide in the morning, and whoever they capture trying to discard refuse is meant to suffer. I know a woman who they collected her wheelbarrow and arrested her. She paid them before she regained her freedom. She had to call her husband to rescue her.”

One of the taskforce members who spoke to our correspondent off-record said, “There are centres to dump refuse, but people won’t take the pains. I agree the designated centres could be far, but people ought to endure the pains.

“It all started with the increase in the prices of petroleum products. Then, the evacuation couldn’t be frequent like before. If you allow the dumping to be done as usual, Nsukka would lose its beauty.”