FERMA working on Njaba River drainage damage.
2 min read
The fear that Orlu Owerri Road would cut into two due to the menace of erosion and cause a serious traffic and ecosystem damage in the environment has finally been resolved and put to rest. The timely intervention of Federal Road Maintenance Agency FERMA to fix the road has arrested the situation.
The bad spot of the road which is after Njaba Bridge while driving from Orlu and before Njaba Bridge while coming from Umuaka really got so bad as a result of the gully erosion that had a massive grip on the area. When Umuaka Times visited the area last week, the workers who were on duty told the newspaper that the depth of the gully erosion was over 500 feet and was still going deeper. Investigations from Umuaka Times revealed that the erosion was caused as a result of the broken drainage system and the erosion went off track and caused the gully damage to the environment.
The FERMA workers Umuaka Times met on the spot were seen trying to reconstruct the gutter to be more solid in order to avoid another breakage of drainage system. The gravel mixed with cement and iron rods were prepared to make the construction of the gutter about 24 inches from the land surface.
After the construction, the drainage system will be back-filled in order to prevent reoccurrence. To support the drainage system, there will also be retaining wall to give it the solid support it needs to stand. When all these are done, the drainage system will then be channeled into the Njaba River and the entire land which was affected by the gully erosion will be sand-filled again which will eventually bring back the ecosystem.
This project which is expected to be concluded before the next six months is a direct labour from the Federal Ministry of Works under the auspices of FERMA.
