Traders want quick clearance of refuse at Utako Market
Traders want quick clearance of refuse at Utako Market
NAN-AE-10
Refuse
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Aug. 17, 2017 (NAN) Some traders in Utako Market, FCT, have called on relevant authorities to evacuate the mounting refuse in the market to prevent outbreak of disease as a result of poor hygiene.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who visited the market on Thursday, observed that piles of refuse dominated the back entrance of the market.
The traders expressed concern over the delay by the waste management authorities to clear the heap of filth from the dump sites.
They told NAN that the situation was capable of putting the lives of the traders in danger, especially of people living around the market area, if not quickly cleared.
They said if urgent action was not taken to evacuate the refuse, the situation could lead to the outbreak of communicable and other vector-borne diseases in the market area.
A vegetable seller, Mustapha Kabir, said a large number of buyers no longer enter the market through the back gate, due to the stench emanating from the filthy site.
He called on the relevant authorities to clear the site, saying this would go a long way to improve the environmental safety of the residents.
“The refuse dump is usually full, and the people who pack them do not come regularly.
“The smell from the dump is terrible, most of us close our nose most times when we come to sell; we don’t have a choice, if not, we would have moved elsewhere.
“Even the traders that come here have to cover their noses while passing due to the offensive odour; we want them to clear this place quickly,” Kabir said.
A plantain seller, Mrs Augusta Nnamdi, opined that the authorities concerned had not lived up to their responsibilities of keeping the market clean.
She also expressed fear that if urgent steps were not taken to evacuate the heaps of refuse around the market, there could be an outbreak of cholera, malaria and other air-borne diseases.
While the traders blamed the government for ineffective waste management system, the authorities, however, accused the traders of being responsible for the problem due to their indiscriminate disposal of refuse.
A livestock butcher, Adamu Zubairu, urged all stakeholders to help clean the spot, saying the place could transmit diseases and infections to sellers and buyers.
“This place where we slaughter chickens and so on is always untidy, the water that is been used to skin the livestock is recycled daily, we want them to help keep the place tidy.”
In a telephone interview, Mr Mukhtar Mohammed, Unit Head, Public Communication Outreach, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), said the solid waste department would take necessary action.
He said that the board would call on the environmental cleaning contractors to wade into the matter.
He also pledged AEPB’s commitment to keeping the city clean, saying that was its sole mandate.
Mohammed advised residents to make certain the cleanliness of their environment by ensuring that their drainage systems are clean.
He said that the board would continue to sanction defaulters of sanitation laws in the FCT.
He advised residents to clear bushes and ponds around their homes to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. (NAN)
TAK/MOL/AFA
===========
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Felix Ajide
=====================