Taraba Residents Fear Disease Outbreak As Refuse Litters Jalingo Amid Cholera Scare

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According to a report by Daily Post, the completely indiscriminate dumping of garbage in public places has continued to plague Jalingo in Taraba State as the recent Cholera outbreak in the state persists.

Patients are reportedly still battling to recover while several others have lost their lives to Cholera.

Before the outbreak of the disease, there had been calls for improved sanitation following the presence of overflowing refuse dumps around the state.

Despite calls for sanitation, more refuse dumpsites have continued to emerge and litter the town, giving the impression that refuse dumps are a part of the town.

It again appears the ministry assigned with the responsibility of keeping the nooks and crannies of the state clean has not deemed it fit to perform its duty leaving the environment an eyesore.

Cholera outbreak kills over 100 persons in JigawaThe Palace way, Hamarwa and Barde roads as at the time of filing this report have been overtaken by dirt and refuse.

Premises of some ministries, agencies and departments are not spared as they have begun to play hosts to reptiles following their bushy environment also overtaken by grass.

Residents say the failure of the Ministry of Environment to provide waste bins at strategic locations, necessitated the indiscriminate dumping of garbages all over the streets.

Some residents who bared their minds on the ugly development identified the fast expansions of the state capital as reasons why dirt has continued to take over the available spaces in the streets.

Jubrila Adamu, a resident of one of the locations badly being overtaken by refuse dumps, said “we do all that we can to draw the attention of the ministry concerned to this refuse but they have failed us.”

She said the community’s readiness to evacuate the refuse, their inability to secure trucks that would assist in conveying the dumps to distant places have continued to frustrate their efforts.

”We have on several occasions reached out to the ministry to assist us but they are always complaining that their trucks are in bad shape. ”

The residents also alleged that the government did not equip the ministry with the relevant working implements to carry out its assignments, warning that another cholera outbreak was imminent in the community.”

Other persons who bared their minds to DAILY POST from the various communities visited within the state capital agreed with Adamu, that the state is heading to another outbreak of communicable diseases.

A senior staff of the ministry of environment said apart from “the fact that our budgetary allocations are always not released to us in time” the state government has also not been given monthly imprest to any of the ministry, agencies and departments.”