By Abdullahi Mohammed
Alhaji Ma’amun Da’u-Aliyu, Managing Director, Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, has said that construction of 4.5 kilometers barrage by the Authority mitigated perennial flooding in Hajedia valley.Da’u-Aliyu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, that the project has saved thousands of farmlands, houses and livestock from ravaging flood in Jigawa.
He said that the barrage reduced flood impact in 2021, compared to the previous years when many lives, farmlands and houses were lost to flooding in the state.NAN reports that the constraction of the barrage was informed by an unprecedented flooding in 2020 that washed away more than 65 per cent of farmlands resulting to food shortage in many local government areas of the state.The flood ravaged rice, millet, maize and sorghum plantations in Malammadori, Miga, Kafin Hausa, Kaugama, Taura, Dutse, Ringim and Jahun LGAs.About 33 persons lost their lives and an estimated 100,000 houses destroyed to flooding in the state.
Jigawa government, however, attributed the flooding to the overflow of Minjibir, Tiga and Challawa Dams in Kano State, as well as the Ringim and Hadejia Rivers in Jigawa.The rivers were in the catchment states of Kano, Bauchi and Jigawa under the management of Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority.Dau-Aliyu, however, said the measure drastically reduced the impact of the flood in 2021, noting that a significant number of farmlands were protected against the disaster.“In 2021; the flood has not been devastating as it used to be in the past, especially in one of the most hit areas of Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS) and Hadejia communities.“
We have been able to construct a mighty barrage to the length of 4.5km designed to protect the town of Auyo and surrounding villages from the menace of river Hadejia, which is flooding every year.“The construction of the barrage has done a great deal for the authority in the area of damage control as never seen before.“
Within the last four years; it was last year that the town of Auyo has not been flooded by rain water, this is a great achievement, and we have to continue doing so to surrounding villages in Hadejia, Guri and Kirikasamma.“We also have special fund under the 2022 operations, to erect embankments to protect the towns in the areas that are being threaten by flood yearly,” he said.The managing director said that the measure had saved public and private property from being destroyed by flooding.According to him, perennial flooding is affecting houses, irrigation infrastructures and economic activities in the areas.(NAN)
