Filth in Jos as water scarcity bites harder

Jos and Bukuru metropolis have been taken over by refuse as the strike embarked upon by civil servants takes its toll on the lives of the citizenry.

Also, taps in the metropolis have remained dry as residents seek water from every available source.

Civil servants in the state have embarked on strike since May 4 following the non-payment of six months arrears of salaries.

Our correspondent gathered that a task force set up by the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress had been going about, preventing workers from doing any work.

The task force was said to have locked up all the treatment plants and reservoirs of the State Water Board.

In the Ministry of Environment, they were said to have locked up the waste yard, preventing workers from using the trucks and bins to evacuate refuse from the city.

It was learnt that the most hit were markets spread across Jos and Bukuru, where heaps of refuse had continued to mount. Residents feared that epidemic might break out.

The Public Relations Manager of the Plateau State Water Board, Mr. Nangor Ndam, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the workers’ union had prevented even senior workers from carrying out skeletal work to release water to the populace.

He said the board was helpless until something was done about the strike or the workers resume work.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. John Dadu’ut, said the ministry was incapacitated by the strike.

He said the ministry had appealed to the workers to let them use some trucks to evacuate the refuse because of the health implications.

Dadu’ut said, “We are appealing to them to allow us to use the trucks even if they are not going to participate in the exercise.”

NLC Chairman, Mr. Jibrin Bancir, said the union in the state would not shift ground until the workers arrears were paid.

Source- Punch