Reports reaching me from the stables
of Katsina State has it that there have been heavy downpour today 2nd
August, 2013. The heavy downpour has caused the collapse of the KANKIA DAM in
KANKIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT of the STATE.
The rice and maize farms had been washed away following the
collapse of the dam.
Some of the victims explained that the situation could affect
irrigation farming, which could further lead to food security problem,
unemployment and rural-urban drift.
A resident and a farmer, Malam Abba Almu said the incident, was the
first of its kind in the history of the town and had destroyed crops worth
millions of Naira.
The victims urged the State and Federal Governments to come to
their aid as many of them would not have food for their families.
He also called for the immediate re-erection of the collapsed
dam’s embankment.
Another victim, Abdulkadir Mai’unguwa, said the disaster would
negatively affect the over 500 irrigation farmers in the area who relied on the
dam for irrigation activities.
Mai’unguwa added that herdsmen had to move to nearby local
governments following the collapse of the dam, and also urged the state
government to assist them and reconstruct the embankment for the socio-economic
development of the area.
The Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the council, Alhaji
Abubakar Lawal, lamented that the dam was recently rehabilitated by the Federal
Government.
He said it was rehabilitated under the constituency project of
the member representing the area, Alhaji Ahmed Babba, “but yet, it collapsed.”
He appealed to the lawmaker, to as a matter of urgency, call the
contractor back to site to reconstruct the embankment and widen the water
spillway to avoid future occurrence.
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