Bauchi: Katagum, Misau Communities commend FG for fixing roads, bridges damaged by flood

From Paul Orude Bauchi

Residents of Katagum and Misau local government areas of Bauchi state have expressed their gratitude to the federal government for fixing portions of Azare-Gadau-Zaki and Zadawa Kafin-Sule- Madagari roads and bridges damaged by floods.

Several bridges along the roads were destroyed last year following flood that cut off several portions thereby subjecting residents and motorists to untold hardships.

“There was a lot of hardship when the road from from Azare to Katagum was cut off,” Mohammed Bulama, the village head of Ariya community in Katagum local government area, said.

Mohammed Bulama

“Firstly, the culvert of the old bridge near my community was not strong enough to withstand the force of the flood leading to its collapsed.

“We lost food, property that cannot be quantified.

“But we are grateful now that the federal government is repairing it and we pray not to experience the kind of disaster and loss again”

Yakubu Haruna recalled that residents of Ariya community saw hell after the bridge collapsed and cut off the road linking several communities in Bauchi, Yobe and Jigawa States”

“Many motorists and residents could no longer use the road and had to pay up to N1000 to be ferried on canoe to go to farms and markets in Situwa, Gasanoka, Tabaus and  Maska and other markets,” he said

“We are grateful that the suffering has come to an end with the fixing of the road”

Mr Sule Hassan, a motorist said fixing the road was a relief several commercial drivers who had to divert to follow long distances to travel to Jigawa and Yobe States.

On-going repair of road on the Zadawa-KafinaSule-Magadari raod

Tukur Abubakar from Zadawa community also expressed the gratitude to the federal government for constructing the damaged portions on Zadawa –Kafin Sule Madagari road road.

“We are happy because the road will improve the standard of living of the people,” Abubakar said.

“We are appealing to the federal government through FERMA to hasten its completion from Zardawa to Kafin Sule and Madakiri road.  

“The road is important for communities, especially during the raining season our people do not have opportunity to take their produce to the markets and students miss up to five days school during the raining season.

“Our farmers suffer and cannot go to farm during raining season but now we are grateful to the federal government because fixing the road will benefit us a lot.

A motorist, Alhaji Muhamadu Dabjuma said he was happy that the federal government heard their cries and fixed the roads.

“We suffered a lot because of the flood came like trouble and everything about farming and trading stopped,” Danjuma said.

“You can understand our joy that the bridge is being repaired”

Speaking on the progress of work on the damaged portions of the roads, Engineer Nantan Daniel Joroh, the federal road maintenance engineer for Bauchi State, revealed that when completed, the roads would bring relief for many individuals and communities.

“We are at the direct Labour site along the Azare-Gadau Zaki road,” Joroh told journalists.

Engineer Nantan Daniel Joroh, federal road maintenance engineer for Bauchi State at the site in Ariya

“This road had challenge last year when flood affected about five locations which got cut off and people could not pass.

“We had to temporarily back fill it with laterite so that people can manage to pass.

“We want to thank our management for approving two locations out of five for a permanent solution.

“We are going to build bus culvert. We are going to construct three cell bus culverts at these locations.

“The remaining three locations we are still waiting for approval so that the road will be motorable for road users”

The federal road maintenance engineer assured of quality of the work.

“We are following the specification as directed the contract and direct labour,” he said.

“I want to assure the people of the communities that these projects when completed will last. The project on the Azare-Gadau Zaki road is expected to be in three months and the road will be motorable for the road users.

“We are pleading for the three locations to be completed so that we will not have any challenge in the future”

On the Zadawa –Kafin Sule Madagari road, Enginner Joroh disclosed that the project started since last year.

“We were able to do two projects on this road and it stopped at surface dressing,” he explained.

“This year it has been awarded for overlaying with asphalt and it has gone more than 50 percent completion and the length they are going to overlay is four kilometer and they have done two kilometer already.

“The total lane of this road is two kilometer so we have done four remaining four so that we will reach the other villages.

“The community is still appealing to the management to award the remaining portion so that they have value for the road because the other ones in front they still need some coverts to connect them to Zadawa.

“By God’s grace if the management awards the remaining two portions the road will be completed and the contractor is doing everything to specification.

“Even the community is happy with what we are doing and from what we have seen the contractor is doing well and going at the right speed.

“The project is supposed to last for six months and we hope the they award the remaining portions of the road to contractor so that the community will be happy with us FERMA”