RAVINE COMMUNITY SENDS SOS TO GOV. AKPABIO OVER LANDSLID

Part of the landslide caused by large body of gulley

water entering the Ravine from Etim Umana Street

just behind Ravine Estate.

 Some notable members of the Ravine Community Welfare Association, in a letter captioned, “Save Our Soul: The Ravine Behind the Ravine Estate is Collapsing and Threatening Our Continuous Existence” have drawn the attention of  the Works Commissioner of Akwa Ibom State to intervene in the landslide problem of the Ravine Estate before they are swept away by the Ravine gulley water one day.

The three-page letter dated Wednesday 12, 2012 and ref. RCWA/UY/GC/VOL.1/2012 made available to Weekly Insight  news desk was also copied the sitting Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Dr. Godswill Akpabio; the Environment and Natural Resources Commissioner, Mr Enobong Uwah and the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elder Sam Ikon.

Expressing their deplorable and helpless condition, the five signatories of the said letter, believed to be speaking the mind of others living in the area stated, “if you do not swing into action soonest you may one day wake up to hear that the people living around the Ravine Estate have been swept away by the Ravine gully water”.

The people who said they had lived in Etim Umana and other adjoining streets since 1986 up until the coming of Marlum Nigeria Ltd. (a construction company said to be handling the construction of underground drainage connecting gully water from Oron road to the Ravine).  They reasoned that the Indian bamboo used to control erosion by those living around the Ravine area had “paid off” up until Marlum came. 

The Ravine Community argued that MARLUM has “defaced most part of such plantations, replacing same with what could pass for a precast drainage”.  They also complained in their letter that “the drainage area from where it ended in the Ravine base had since been cut off and washed away and the threatening large body of water has caused treacherous landslide targeted at human structures around the Ravine area bordering Etim Umana street” in Eniong Offot.

The letter further disclosed that the matter had been reported to one of the Supervisors of MARLUM Nigeria Ltd., but wished that the Works Commissioner could be disposed to see the threat the gulley water was causing people living closed to the Ravine area.

According to them, “as it is now, the large body of water has chopped off the precast drainage up to the middle of the Ravine, and the heavy running gulley water from Oron Road to Urua Udofia and into the Ravine has cut off and sink the Indian bamboo and caused severe landslide putting human existence around the Ravine at serious threat”.

The Ravine Community Welfare Association appealed in their letter to Akwa Ibom State Government through the Ministries of Works, Environment & Natural Resources to step into the matter, look closely at what MARLUM Nigeria Ltd.was doing and find what they called “a lasting solution” to such “human-existence threatening problem”.

While observing that the gulley water from Etim Umana Street has contributed to what they termed as “disgusting landslide menace threatening houses of people living around the area bordering the Ravine”, they appealed to the State Government to “enlist Etim Umana Street(off Urua Udofia Street) in the next number of roads to be constructed as such action will help curb the erosion and landslide problems threatening buildings in the area”.

They claimed that in December 12, 2012 in a letter to the Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Works, the issue of Etim Umana Street/Etim Umana Lane as well as Udo Idiong Nka Street were mentioned to government for construction and believed that such matter would be dully considered this time around to keep the Ravine landslide under check.

The letter was signed by Pastor Augustine Udosen(Chairman); Evangelist Daniel B. Daniel(Vice Chairman); E.E. Ituen(Secretary); Sylvester Edet A.(Treasurer) and Mr Hanson Yellow Etukudoh(PRO) of Ravine Community Welfare Association.