The Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority (KEPA) will appropriately sanction defaulters of environmental sanitation and indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains in the state.
Alhaji Jibrin Lawal, General Manager of the authority, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He said that the authority would not allow unhygienic attitude by residents and business owners in the state.
“With our mobile courts, we will be sanctioning any violator of our environmental hygiene as well as those who pay deaf ears to our sensitization campaigns on the effect of dumping refuse in drains.
“Many lives were lost in the past as a result of flooding, which was attributed to indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains and waterways,” he said.
He said that public was sensitised on the dangers of blocking waterways and explained measures to prevent flood during the rainy season.
Lawal said the agency was currently refuse from drains in flood prone areas within the metropolis and major towns.
He noted that construction of structures along areas prone to flood had been rampant while farm lands had been transformed into unauthorized buildings.
“People should consult the authority concerned before embarking on erection of any structure to avoid destruction of households and property as recorded in the past,’’ he said.
The KEPA boss, said the authority would collaborate with other environmental protection agencies and the media to continue enlightening the public on the relevance of environmental protection.
He called on the public to report to the authority any uncleared drains and refuse dumps for prompt evacuation. (NAN)
