Lagos Moves To Tackle Flood In Schools

The Lagos State Government has begun the rehabilitation and cleaning of drainages in 300 schools ravaged by flood last year.

This is to ensure that the schools are flood-free this year, says Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who inspected drainage rehabilitation projects in Surulere area of the state last week.

The commissioner stated that about 623 schools were identified last year to have been ravaged by flood, saying that government had selected 300 of such schools that were in most critical condition for urgent rehabilitation.

Bello added that 100 of the over 300 schools have had their drainages rehabilitated and cleaned, saying that they would not be flooded this year.

According to him, some of the schools were flooded during the raining seasons because they were located in flood-prone areas, stressing that the rehabilitation would help to arrest disruption of learning during the raining season.

“The government is committed to tackling the challenges posed by flooding in the state. We are not only concerned about the drainage channels and canals but also important to us is the drainage channels around the schools.

“We are reconstructing and rehabilitating them to free the schools from flooding so as to enable our children learn in a conducive atmosphere,” he stated.

Bello said government had promised to complete all ongoing construction, dredging and maintenance of drainage projects in the 57 local councils in the state as part of efforts to ensure that the drains were cleaned before the rainy season.

He said government was poised to check flooding in the state ahead of the rains.

On the ongoing upgrading and improvement of System 5 drainage channel at Babs Animashaun to Sari Iganmu Bridge in Surulere, the government has begun dredging and construction of a channel at the end of the rectangular concrete channel at Babs Animashaun Bridge. The commissioner expressed satisfaction with the job done by the contractor handling the project, noting that the dredging and lining of the channel had provided great relief to the people in the area.