By Mary Ayobaham
In a bid to combat environmental degradation and gully erosion menace in Edo State, the Edo State Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), has visited some communities in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area.
This is in continuation of activities to mark the close out engagements with communities that have benefited from the various completed gully alleviation/ remediation projects in Edo South Senatorial District.
The gully erosion ravaging the area has been a major threat to several buildings within the school premises for over two decades.
Addressing the school management at the project site, the Project Coordinator of NEWMAP in Edo State, Dr. Tom Obaseki, explained the rationale behind the visit.
He said: “The essence of the engagement is to further interact with you on the plan and the interventions that have been done. When we came to the gully site we discovered that the road was bad and posed a barrier.”
Also speaking at the project site was the Edo State NEWMAP Project Engineer, Engr. Edwin Asemota Ero, who gave insight on the problems the gully erosion had earlier caused.
“The cause of the gully erosion was the water from the upstream that had no control structure. We had to construct an underground drain by the fence of the college so as to pave the way for the water from the upstream to the downstream into the existing man-hole through the underground tunnel to the river.”
Narrating the challenges the gully erosion site posed before the NEWMAP’s intervention, the Principal of Edo College, Mr. Edomwonyi Peter, stated that the gully site posed great danger to both lives and property at the college.
In his words: “The gully site was a threat to the school. We are happy that the State Government intervened through NEWMAP. We are more relaxed now that it has been addressed.”
“Also, parents of the students have been complaining about the road and they are happy now, we want to thank you. We will do our best to ensure that all the work you have done here will be maintained,” he added.
The team also visited the Ogiso-Osunde site, hitherto ravaged by the floods which brought down several buildings but is now taking a new look as several roads in the area (Osunde, Ogiso and Ikpoba link roads) were reconstructed and asphalted.
Also worthy of note is the Queen Ede gully in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, which had defied several attempts prior to NEWMAP’s intervention.
The gully before now divided the Old Benin-Agbor Road into two parts, threatened the ever-busy new interstate Benin-Agbor Road, the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Queen Ede Girls Secondary School and brought down several buildings in the area.
