From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The Nasarawa State Waste Management and Sanitation Authority, NASWAMSA, has warned traders to desist from setting up shops on the state’s road shoulders.
The Director General (DG) of NASWAMSA, Barr. Abubakar Madaki gave the warning in a statement issued on Monday and signed by the spokesperson, Mr Yusuf Gurku and made available to journalists in Lafia.
According to him, traders who display their wares by the roadside, especially highways across the state contribute to sanitation challenges, calling on them to desist from such act.
Madaki also called on motorists to desist from illegal parking on the ever busy Abuja-Keffi highway, especially from the Mararaba/Masaka axis so as to reduce congestion of traffic.
He said that NASWAMSA would not take it lightly with any motorist caught disobeying the order as they will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
The DG further cautioned residents of the state against illegal dumping of waste adding that indiscriminate dumping of refuse is unlawful because of the harm it causes to the environment and the risk it poses to human health.
“Even with the skyrocketing practice of illegal dumping, there are officially designated areas with properly integrated waste management systems that should be used for dumping, but some people are very recalcitrant, we can not longer allow such illegality to continue,” he said.
The NASWAMSA DG urged residents of the state to imbibe the habit of cutting grasses in their immediate environment especially this raining season, and also avoid waste dumping on water channels because of the negative consequences it has.
He therefore thanked Governor Abdullahi Sule for providing the agency with additional trucks and other necessary items for effective and prompt evacuation of waste to proper disposal.
