|
Listen to article
|
Another gully erosion has wrecked havoc in Anambra State, as it literally cut off a major inter-state road in the state which lead to the country home of a commissioner in the state.
The Eastern Updates recalls that the road which connects Anambra State and Imo State through Amichi—Osumenyi—Ebenator—Ezinifite—Amaruru/Lilu had recently trended on social media as the gully (popularly known as Ebenator Erosion Gully or Ibo Ebenator) initially caved-in a portion of it few months ago, following recurrent rainfalls.
The affected portion of the road, located off the Ebenator Junction (also know as the Amannalu Junction) in Nnewi South Local Government Area, and very close to Prof. Sam Uzochukwu’s Residence, was finally cut off and divided into two by the gully this week.
The rural inter-state road was said to be the major access road to Ezinifite, the hometown of the current Commissioner for Environment in Anambra state, Engr. Felix Odimegwu.
It was gathered that the now-cut-off portion of the road had long been threatened by the Ebenator Erosion Gully, which is unarguably the deepest and most dangerous erosion gully in Anambra State and the southeast at large.
Read Also: Gunmen Kidnap Cleric In Anambra After Kidnap Of Lawmaker
The gully was also said to have also caved-in and destroyed many houses, economic trees and crops in the community, wasted many lives, and also recently started escalating to Ebenator Central School, without any government’s intervention coming forth.
The affected portion of the road was said to be the foundational ‘head’ of the Gully and major gateway or channel through which floods from other neighbouring communities, especially Osumenyi, flow into the Ofara River through the gully, because of the slopy topography of the terrain.
Earlier speaking on the situation, the President-General of Ebenator Community, Dr. Anthony Okechukwu described the erosion menace in the community as a very terrible one, which has troubled the community for decades.
He highlighted some of the self-help efforts of the community leadership to ameliorate the situation, which only were a minor and insignificant scratch on it, owing to its huge size and depth.
He further enumerated some of the steps his administration had taken in the past to draw government’s attention to the situation earlier before now, including writing letters to the then Governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano and the then Commissioner for Works, Engr. Marcel Ifejiofor, which never received any response nor yielded the expected result, till the expiration of that administration.
