How collapsed bridge cut off 12 villages from Kano city

Villagers said the massive sand excavation along the river bank caused erosion that led to the collapse of the only bridge linking the villages to the other parts of the state. Our correspondent reports that deep erosion gullies had eaten the base of the bridge causing it to collapse.The affected villages according to the people […]

Villagers said the massive sand excavation along the river bank caused erosion that led to the collapse of the only bridge linking the villages to the other parts of the state. Our correspondent reports that deep erosion gullies had eaten the base of the bridge causing it to collapse.
The affected villages according to the people are; Medile, Dan Maliki, Bechi, Guringawa, Butakaye, Rigafada, Gadama, Umarawa, Shekar Mai Daki, Bubbugaje and Kumbotso.
A community leader while quoting the 2006 national population census said over 190,000 persons lived in the affected villages.
The collapse of the main access road has inflicted serious hardships on the residents who lamented that their ability to transport themselves to other parts of the city has been severely impeded.
A resident of Rigafada, Lawan Yakubu Bechi said that the 14-year-old bridge was constructed to provide a better channel for water.
“But the speed with which the water was gushing after heavy rainfall became too much for the bridge to withstand. This triggered erosion which excavated the soil that provided support for the bridge and eventually caused the bridge to fall. We are really in a difficult situation because nobody finds it easy to leave these villages. We need to go out in search of livelihood,” he said.
Yakubu blamed sand excavation as the reason for the erosion that damaged the Rugafada road, saying the activities of sand excavators must be halted in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.
A farmer in the area complained that the loss of access road to other parts of the state has prevented him from taking his harvests to the market.
“Most of us are peasant farmers who rely mainly on selling our harvests to earn a living. The Rugafada bridge is the main route that links our villages to the metropolis where our customers are. Now that it has been destroyed, we don’t know how we can take our crops to the market and sell. The government must quickly come to our aid and fix the bridge,” he said.
In a letter addressed to the state governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso by Kumbotso Local Government Development Association, they appealed to the government to reconstruct the bridge in order to ease the suffering of the communities.
According to the letter, dated August 12, 2013 and signed by the association’s secretary, Suleiman Danladi Guringawa:  “Sequel to series of letters to Kumbotso Local Government Council on the condition of the Rugafada bridge along Kumbotso-Sabuwar Gandu road which was at the verge of collapse, the above mentioned association writes to intimate the government that the bridge has now collapsed as a result of which all vehicular movements along the road have been cut off.
“Following this unfortunate disaster, the above mentioned association wishes to passionately appeal to the state government in its magnanimous gesture to come to the aid of all the inhabitants of the area and by extension the other road users by means of reconstructing the bridge and the whole road.”
The letter pleaded further: “We also appeal to the authority concerned to stop the illegal activities (sand excavation) of a certain company. The illegal activities of this company led to the removal of the bridge’s embankment and gully erosion posing a colossal, devastating ecological problem in the entire area.”
However, when contacted, the Interim Management Officer (IMO) of Kumbotso Local Government Council, Labaran Jazuli Dawakin Tofa, said the bridge has not completely collapsed.
“I know that one part of the bridge has been damaged but I am only hearing from you now that the bridge has completely collapsed. My information officer and others have told me that motorists are still passing through the bridge,” he said.
Dawakin Tofa said he had raised the issue of the bridge with Governor Kwankwaso who promised to fix the bridge for the communities because the work was beyond the capacity of the local government.