IDAILY TRUST
s.!J
Thursday, May 26, 2011
environment@dailytrust.com HOTLINE: 08036417326
Env~ronrnent
Bet""een tree-s a 路n d-electricity poles, ""ho has the righ~ of 1Nay? ByTIIlilA. Hassan
LECI'RICITY poles or power lines are used for Ihe distribu.on ofelectricity from Ihe transformer to homes. BealUse Ihese poles supply power to homes and business premises, they are usually located very dose to residential buildings and most times such buildings are siurounded by trees. As a natural part of Ihe erosystem, trees abound in the environment but as an essential basic infrastructure of life, pqwer lines are located in many parts oflheenvironment too and in instances where there is a competition for space, bolh electrical poles and trees are seen
E
intertwined
Theobvioushazardsassocialedwilh electrical poles indude fire outbreal~ destruction ofproperty and in extreme cases electrocution, but most people have either chosen to ignore this danger or are ignorant ofit Some observers are of Ihe opinion ihat most of Ihe power lines that pass Ihrough tree branches may result in accident because sometimes people sit under Ihe shed of Ihose trees and any contact with a living portion of Ihe tree maycauseelectrocutiolL
A resident ofKwara Drive, War College in Gwarinpa Estate has expressedconcem overa tree located dose to powerline in Ihestreetwhich may become a sow-ce of accidents if not taken care o( In her opinion, the power lines should be relocated or Ihe Iree branches pruned to prevent contact betWeen Ihetree and electric pole. She feared thatnowthattherains are here, theremaybehigh';'chances ofaccidentwheneverlhere is contact between the tree parts and the power lines. The Power HoldingCompanyof Nigeria (PHCN). has in the pastconductedsensitizationonthedangersof building houses or dOing businesses under high tension power lines or electric poles of any kind but it may not have really taken into consideration the hazard thar lies in an environment where electric poles pass Ihrough Ihe branches oftrees. Engineer Mohammed A Sule is the Business Manager of PHCN Kubwa He said the company has always sensitized its customers on Ihe importance ofexercising caution whenever power lines are located dose to homes, trees orplacesofbusiness.
He said people are adviced not to build Iheir homes dose to high tension
,lines but whenever such 0CCU1S, other agencies in charge oftown planning can
step in and ensure that people are made to comply with safety precautions.
IDeforestation-has-reduced in Be-r:lue state' ~
State is currently faced wilh serious ecological and environmental challenges. ranging fivm deforestation to indiscriminate waste disposal John Ngbede has been the stateS commissioner for Water Resources and Environment since 2007. In this interview. he revealed the ministrys inlervenlion in ecological problems and how it has strived to proVide potable walerfor Benue community.
passed by Ihe state House ofAssembly,
Ihe problem of deforestation in Benue S.tate would reduce. Waste materials arising from the industries such as the Benue Brewery Ud and Benue Cement Company Pic Gboko have constituted health hazard tolheenvironmentlsthereanygovernmentpolicytocheckthislrend? Well, Ihis is not the first time we . are hearing this about Benue Brewery. Some individuals carne here and complained of toxic waste or had product From TOI)Iila !(ajo, Makurdi Ihe Brewery is pouring into River Benue South Senatorial District is Benue and that it is affecting Ihe heallh facing some ecological problems. What oflhepeople. Our team wentlhereand is Ihe state government doing to check carried out some test and it was conthe menace? firmed ihat most of these allegations The ecolOgical problems we have are not true. in Benue Soulh are along Orokam in Since Ihen. we have been in touch Ogbarlibo Local Government 1hat wilh Ihe company and I don't think is where it is more pronounced and Ihese fresh allegations are true. governme.nt is intervening in ihat As for Benue Cement Company, area by releasing Ihe sum ofN40 mil- don't forget that Ihe company is worklion monthly to tackle such ecolOgical . ing along wilh Ihe community of problems. Mbayion in ensuring that most of Ihe Thereismassivedeforestationin the environmental hazards in the area are . state through the activities of charcoal being checlanated Before BCC was dealersandsawmiU= Whatisgovem- established, there was a report on environmental impact on Ihe community ment'sstandon this ad? The deforestation law recently which is Ihe procedure before a compassed by the Benue State House pany ofsuch is established which must of Assembly has set in motion Ihe besubmitted and approved bygovemmachinery to guard against deforesta- me.nt Don't also forgetihatas aresultof tion. Youalsolmowlhatbeforelhislaw, Iheseha=ds.mostoflhecommunities Ihere are field officers working against are benefiting from Ihese companies this,notforgettingthatlheministryhas such as establishment ofschools, proalso purchased some machines for Ihe vision of water and so OlL staff of Ihe rninislry who are monitorBut when you talkaboutwastearising Ihe exercises. So, if you claim Ihat ing from such oompanies:Ufecting the there is massive deforestation in .the people in such communities, I tend to state, I don't think ihat is correct disagreesometimesbecausetheStand- . [also Imowlhat in anysociery, Ihere ard Organization ofNigeria goes Ihere are bad eggs and when such happens to carry a check; our rninislryalso goes we always get to arrest such people and Ihere for a routine check. We proffer [ Ihank God ihat wilh tl,e recent law advice to Ihem so that anvthine ihat is
give this idea a Ihought We set aside some money for Ihe purchase of this ihat cooperation between us and Ihese waste from people but they were not companies have been cordial willing to explore Ihe idea and Ihatwas Benue State Govenunent at a point howitdied out Fornow, wehavenever thought of recyding water sachets to thought of recycling water sachets as a dean up the environmenlls Ihe plan policy in the ministry. All we were Irystillonrourse? ing to do is to ensure that we buy Ihese Be.nueStategovemmentlhoughtof empty sachets off Ihe slreel$, as well as how itcan enhance theeconomyofthe enhance the economy of the young people and we said ihat anybody who boys, girls and women. picks a bag ofwater sachet and brings Therewereacquisitionsofrefusedisto the ministry. we will buy it and keep posal vans by Ihe Suswam administraas a way of improving Ihe economy of tion. Can you say this facility is undEI'Uvouths in town. But nobody cared to tilized or over utilized? being discharged into the air does not
affect Ihe people. And so far, I think
Well,thesevehideswerepurchased fora purposeandso,nobodycan under oroverutilizelhernSomeoflhesevehides were given out to some local government areas like Gboko, Otukpo, Katsina-A1a 1hat is why you cannot see heaps of refuse in town as Iheyare evacuated and dumped atvarioussites. This is the area that government has scored some points. Also, don't forget that the number of culverts, drainages conslructed in Ihe state now surpass Ihat of eight years ago. If you go round Mal...-urdi town, we have touched Ihe lives of residents in over 150 slreets and other local government headquarters and Ihese are facts on ground. Let me say that I'm surprised when some people say Ihat Iheydon't notice anything about the ecological fund projects. Under this administT'ation, government has done a lot in the area of erosion control It is unfortunate Ihat empty sachets of water are found in these drainages despite Ihe contracts awarded to dear Ihe gutters for waters to run but Ihen, the attitude of our people is still very poor towards dean environment. Would you say govenunent has created an enabling envirorunenl for Ihe ministry to perform its statutory responsibility? I can tell you that Ihe governor has given free hand to this minislry to operate more than any olher minislry in Ihe state. His re-election for another term offouryearsmeans more development for the state and I want to believe that the people of the state are going to see what he is set to do. It is an opportunity for the gov=or to tell the people Ihat he has not returned to路eat their manev but to develop the state.