DTSG MOVES TO INSTILL ENVIRONMENTAL DISCIPLINE

The Delta State Ministry of Environment Sanitation Task Force on Tuesday embarked on an enforcement drive after a 42 day notice served residents elapsed.

The exercise, which met pockets of resistance by some persons, took the Task Force led by the Environment Commissioner, Mr Chris Onogba, to the right flank of Okpanam road, from the Inter Bau round about axis of the state capital.

Some offices, including that of the Head of Service, business premises and residential apartments were sealed off by the Task Force for failure by the owners to cut over grown weeds, tidy up the environment or show evidence of ownership of waste bins, while the offenders were made to pay fines depending on the assessment of the officials.

 
The Task Force met a stiff resistance by a vulcanizer operating close to SLOT, who, along with his wife, engaged some members of the team in a fight.

It took the intervention of a senior police officer to bring the situation under control, but that was after a member of the team had been stabbed with a broken bottle by the vulcanizer, who earlier confronted the Environment Commissioner with a charm.

At the Midwifery market, the Task Force brought down illegal structures, particularly make shift stores found to be under high tension lines.

Addressing newsmen in the course of the exercise, the Commissioner, Mr Chris Onogba, said it was high time residents of the state deliberately took ownership of their environment and ensure it was clean and safe for all.

He said the resistance encountered was not unexpected because many were used to the usual way of doing things, which he noted had been overtaken by a paradigm shift and the determination to enthrone reality as it concerned the environment.

Onogba said the enforcement process would be followed by a mop up, pointing out that there would be strategic engagement of the people to make for effective policing of the environment and impress on residents the reason why they should keep their environment clean.

The Commissioner explained that government was concerned about the sustainability of the ongoing process, but assured that the Task Force had the political will and the required manpower to push on, with the determination not to fail in its duty.

He advised residents of the state to keep their environment clean, as outsiders could use it to create a right or wrong impression about the state.

Onogba warned that anyone found wanting would be appropriately sanctioned.