Raymond Ozoji, Awka
Hope is in sight as the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) move to end era of building collapses as well as poor road construction in Anambra state.
NSE in its resolve to ensure that lives and property are no longer lost to incessant building failures in the state, urged government to equip as well as revamp the building control units of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board and Awka Capital Development Authority to ensure that all building projects are done by competent engineers.
Chairman of the Awka branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers Engr. Edmond Chukwuemeka Nkalu who spoke to journalists in Awka on Thursday about the position of the body on failed building projects and poor road construction in the state, stressed the dire need for synergy between Anambra State Physical Planning Board and Anambra State Material Testing Laboratory to ensure that test on soil texture is conducted before construction proper to avert building failures.
He said NSE supported the actions of the state physical planning board to ensure that people got building permit before they could embark on any construction work and also called on the board to fish out bad eggs among them adding that it was important to build houses in line with required regulations and general standards for building houses to reduce rate of collapses.
To this end the NSE boss in Awka appealed to the state physical planning board to map out some areas for what he described as vertical development. These areas according to him, will be developed with houses approved by the government to avoid clustering as well as ensure that such buildings are constructed with approved designs.
Nkalu further disclosed that the state government recently inaugurated a committee on road designs to ensure that roads were no longer constructed haphazardly in Anambra state but according to designs and specifications. This according to him, was a positive development but urged the committee to ensure that quality roads were constructed henceforth and not roads that would get damaged after some months thereby lavishing government scarce resources. He added that until people were sacked, the right decisions might not be taken.
He therefore urged government to employ competent engineers to man engineering structures to eliminate quackery while commending Governor Willie Obiano on the on-going desilting of flood channels across the state. He noted that such move would go a long way to prevent flooding in major cities like Onitsha, Awka and a host of others.
He admonished the relevant ministries and agencies of government desilting drainages to endeavour to evacuate dirts removed from the gutters to avoid obstructions and accidents that may result from heaps of dirts abandoned on the roads after desilting the gutters.