Dusty road: Imo Commissioner urges residents to wear masks.
3 min read
By Peter Okolie
Owerri, Jan. 31, 2022 (NAN) The Imo Commissioner for Works, Mr Ralph Nwosu, has urged residents on newly constructed roads in the state to wear face masks against effects of dust emanating from the construction. The state Commissioner for Works, Mr Ralph Nwosu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Owerri. Nwosu was reacting to complaints by residents, motorists and business owners on the Ubomili axis of Owerri-Orlu Expressway on the effect of inhaling concrete mixture.
The commissioner said the Owerri-Orlu contract, with a stipulated contractual period of 18 months, would be completed soon. “The stone base we are using to stabilize the road is what is causing the dust not cement.
“In the coming weeks, we shall asphalt the road and it will be a thing of the past; there is no way we will construct there without having some problems, but we are trying to mitigate it,” he said.
Nwosu said he had instructed the contractors to use tank truck to spray water on the road which was been carried out from time to time to ensure that people around are protected. The commissioner advised residents and business owners along the road to use their facemasks in the meantime. He also urged people to encourage contractors and government by pouring water on the road while the contractors continue to work assiduously to meet the contract deadline.
According to him, Gov. Hope Uzodinma has set a target to construct new roads and rehabilitate some existing ones totalling over 50 road projects this year.
He said the over 50 road projects included ongoing, new and adjourning road projects.
The commissioner said the 72km Owerri-Okigwe road project and the 64km Owerri-Orlu- a dual carriage way, were the star projects of the governor.
“That is why we have a multilayer supervision team on the roads. we have our engineers, the governor himself, myself (commissioner) and the Special Assistants on project monitoring to ensure that at the end, we give the people a road that can stand integrity,” he said.
He also explained that the MCC/Uratta road project was redesigned to tackle the perennial problem of flooding. “The good thing is that the project will no longer end at Toronto, but it will continue in order to take some water to a river nearby.
“We understand and appreciate the pains of the people of that area too, but it was not handled intentionally to punish anybody.
“Within that axis, the Relief Market, Dick-Tiger, ChukwumaNwoha, Streets and the tunnel that take water to Otamiri and adjourning streets -Okenze fish market, are all being handled,” Nwosu added.
NAN reports that residents and business owners along the Owerri-Orlu road had complained of the health, economic and environmental impact of the dusty concrete on them. Mr Roland Iwueze, a 61-year-old commercial bus driver told NAN that the people of the area had been crying about the road but nobody answered them. He said besides the damages caused to his vehicle, he suffers from cough and catarrh because of the dust inhaled when plying the route.
“I usually ply the road as a route but only do that now when leaving for work and returning home. I go elsewhere for my business,” he said.
Mr Elias Mbah, a dealer on motor spare parts on the road, who expressed satisfaction with the job, said “this is no just ordinary dust but cement, which is more dangerous to our health.”
Mbah said he laboured to clean dust on his goods regularly and had turned them to look like old stocks before his customers. Also, Mr Linus Alozue, a community leader at Umueze-amubulu in Ubomili, while commending the government on the road project, appealed for early completion of the road and construction of drainages before the rain sets in. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
