A university lecturer, Dr. Faith Ekong, has urged the Akwa Ibom State Government to regulate the excavation of sand in the state in order to safeguard the environment.
Ekong, who is the Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Uyo, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Uyo on Sunday.
She said there was no regulation to sand excavation in the state and this had led to land degradation and pollution of sources of natural water supply.
She said: “In Akwa Ibom, there is no regulation to mining of sand.
“Dredgers just get to site and dredge indiscriminately, not minding the environmental impact on the community.”
The don said the negative impact of the activities of dredging had caused hardships to some people in the state.
Ekong said: “Almost all the villages rely on wetland for portable water and water for other uses, but when they mine, it impacts negatively on the people of the state.
“It leads to the silting of water.
“By the time they dredge the water, it is actually polluted and the impact is very high.
“When they finish mining, they leave the pit and don’t cover it.
“The land becomes useless and the people cannot farm on it anymore.”
Ekong said government should create awareness to let the people realise the depth of the hazards the activity posed to the environment and the dwellers.
She said: “We at the receiving end are supposed to be well informed about it.
“We are also supposed to play our role as individuals to safeguard the environment.”
Ekong called on the State Government to enforce policy that would control the dredging of mining of solid minerals in the state.
NAN.
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