‘Cause of erosion in Cross River is carelessness’

Imoke who was speaking on a radio programme monitored by our reporter in Calabar, described flood calamities in the state as unfortunate, adding that they were caused by human factors.He said: “Most of our erosion sites are caused by us. We have a situation where a drain terminates at a particular location or a drain […]

Imoke who was speaking on a radio programme monitored by our reporter in Calabar, described flood calamities in the state as unfortunate, adding that they were caused by human factors.
He said: “Most of our erosion sites are caused by us. We have a situation where a drain terminates at a particular location or a drain breaks, rather than fixing it or doing something about it, we just watch and that drain turns into a massive erosion site.”
The governor lamented the careless act of residents to environment-related issues, noting that unlike the South East region where erosions were caused by the terrain, here it is caused by carelessness in the state.
“I was at the site of the recent one. I have also visited the one at Army barracks where some buildings are caving in.  The cost of rehabilitating these sites is very significant.  What we have done now is that we are trying to deploy less expensive technology to manage them. When I say less expensive, I mean we have met with a few groups that are offering us alternatives to concrete solution. We are now looking at other solutions including refilling, grassing and so on as part of the management of the erosion site. So that is a bit of a challenge for us.”
He said that the World Bank is collaborating with the state to tackle the major erosion sites in the state, adding that procurement process has been initiated to address some major erosion sites.
He urged the people to always hasten to draw attention of relevant government agencies once they noticed or identified drainage problems or signs of ecological disaster.