The Oyo State government has desilted about 153.11km of blocked drains and culverts along major roads in the Ibadan metropolis as a proactive measure to avert flood disasters.

Desilted drains include those from Total Garden to Beere, Iyaganku to Odo-ona, to Apata, Total Jericho to Alesinloye Roundabout, Sango-Eleyele to Ologuneru, Ijokodo-Apete-Awotan, and Olunde to Olojuoro Road, among others.

The state’s Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola, who disclosed this, stressed the need to clear the blocked drains and culverts of all debris, such as plastic bags, bottles, sand, wood, and tyres.

Mogbonjubola, who was represented by the ministry’s Director of the Engineering Department, Oladipo Adebowale, said the clearing would avert impending and avoidable flooding disasters in the state. He reiterated that blocking drains and culverts is a serious offence, which, in addition to causing floods, destroys the asphalt layers of the roads.

He warned that those responsible for illegal rubbish dumps would face the full force of the State Environmental Law. During an assessment tour of ministry officials, in conjunction with those of the Oyo State Project Performance Monitoring Agency and the Office of the Auditor General (State), Mogbonjubola commended the current government’s visionary steps on desilting the drainages and warned against any further illegal dumping of rubbish in unauthorised places.