Women Lament Pollution Of Water, Environment In Eleme

Mba Okase Eleme Initiative, Eleme, a women-focused civil society organization in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State has decried the disturbing level of the pollution of sources of domestic water in the area.
At a convergence meeting in December at Alode, Eleme, members of the organization said that both surface and underground waters, which the people depended on for domestic use have been polluted by major industries operating in the area.
The women decried indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste, open defecation and gas flaring in the area.
The convener of the meeting and Coordinator of Mba Okase Initiative, Eleme. Dr. Patience Osaroejiji, listed the streams at Aleto, Agbonchia, Eteo and Ogale as some of the surface waters which the people depended on for domestic use that have been polluted.
She said even underground water that the people dug wells to access have also been polluted and cited the Nsisioken area of Ogale, where the United Nations said had high concentration of benzene that is injurious to human beings if consumed.
Another speaker at the event, Chief (Mrs.) Grace Ollor, said that the effort by the Hydrocarbons Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to supply the area with potable water has not succeeded because most of the reticulation pipes had been damaged and water pumped from the water would spill into the roads anytime the waterworks pumps water.
She also said that contractors engaged by HYPREP to execute the projects were failing to deliver to specification. “HYPREP brings if money for the project. But once they give it to the contractors, it ends there,” Mrs. Ollor said.
The women, who were part of last year’s World Water Day celebration in Port Harcourt with the support of Kebetkache Foundation, said they had since realized that water had more importance than they had ever known.
But then, Mrs. Ollor said, water could cause impotence in men and infertility in women. Diarrhoea, rashes in children, typhoid malaria all have something to do with water.
Mrs. Rose Owate told the women that they had the right to say no to obnoxious policies of both traditional and political leaders. “Your right is a legal entitlement,” she said. “But you have to know your right to be able to demand it.
Other speakers at the meeting were Mr. Amejima Obari, who said employers in the area were underpaying the people who work for them; Mr. Patrick Okakaobari, who asked the people to demand their rights at their respective places of work and Mrs. Cherish Obari, who demanded that companies operating in the area should pay their workers directly instead of using contractors to pay them.
The women also decried the indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles and bags by people in Eleme, a situation they said has become a threat to the environment, which has been causing flooding in the area.
Members of Mba Okase resolved at the meeting to henceforth demand environmental impact assessment reports from industries coming to the area to set up shop, engage the leaderships in the area to face up to environmental issues.