Governor Ganduje of Kano State

Residents of Kano have decried the prevalence of refuse heaps in parts of the city, saying the situation could cause outbreak of diseases.

Some of the residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday said the heaps had become a menace especially to those living around Sabon Gari.

They lamented that in some places the refuse had taken over roads within the metropolis.

One of them who lives in Tarauni, Malam Bala Aminu, said the refuse had accumulated in the area for more than one month and had become a source of concern to people living there, and their visitors.

“The refuse heaps in this city should be evacuated immediately to avert possible outbreak of diseases,”Aminu said.

He said people going toward the direction of the refuse heaps, especially at Yan Kura Roundabout, usually block their nose due to the stench coming from them.

“There are places that have become an eyesore because of the refuse dumps there; and some people even defecate around them openly due to lack of public conveniences,” he said.

Another resident, Mr Robert Chukwu, who sells electrical appliances along France Road, Sabon Gari, appealed to the State Government to establish refuse dumps around the Sabon Gari market for easy evacuation.

“Most of the refuse dumps around the market are illegal ones.

“We complained to the authorities concerned but nothing has been done yet to address the situation,”Chukwu said.

He called on Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje to direct the State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) to live up to its responsibility by deploying its personnel and equipment to immediately evacuate the refuse to avert possible outbreak of diseases.

He also called on the state government to construct Public Conveniences to stop the open defecation around the market.

The Public Relations Officer of REMASAB, Alhaji Arabiyu Garba, said the board was doing its best to evacuate the refuse in the affected areas within the metropolis.

According to Garba, the state government had recently provided eight additional trucks to the board to facilitate its operation.

He also said that the government had recruited youths to work as Sanitation Vanguards to complement the operation of the existing street cleaners.

“We are working based on schedule, and we go out to monitor our workers on daily basis, but as you know, Kano is a big place and people have to exercise patience,” he said.