The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has deployed swamp devil machines to attack and clear pervasive water hyacinth vegetation, which has clogged navigable water channels in Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The agency said the ongoing project was a direct and proactive response by the Federal Water Transportation Regulatory Agency, to concerns raised by boat operators.

Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, Dr. Sarat Braimah, who led the expedition team yesterday, said water hyacinth weeds rear up its fangs from October to late December every year.

She said it was a natural phenomenon that impedes boating activities and aggressively disrupts fishing activities on inland waterways across the country.

According to her, the operation was strategic to keep Lagos waterways free from such encumbrances, and headline efforts to assure boat operators and water transportation stakeholders of their safety.

Braimah disclosed that NIWA has mapped out strategic plans to tackle the menace, adding that a special team of environmental experts will be on detailed look out for the mystery weeds, to help arrest their impact before they could overrun the navigable channels in Lagos.

She appealed to organised boat operators and water users to report any sighting of the weeds to the NIWA Lagos office, while calling on stakeholders to be circumspect and obey all extant safety regulations.