By Our Correspondent
LANDSLIDE has occurred at Oba in Idemili South local government area of Anambra State, cutting off a section of the ever -busy Onitsha- Owerri expressway.
The slide, which is about 100 meters deep and about 400 meters in length, buried the concrete culvert earlier used to control gully erosion in the area.
Only one lane of the road is currently being used by motorists and apart from cordoning off the affected area, no reconstruction has begun.
Major racks were seen several metres along the road from the popular Oba junction and traffic had been directed to only one lane, thereby slowing down vehicular movement in the area.
Many buildings in the newly developed estates in the area are already being threatened by the slide. Some property owners were seen inspecting the extent of damage yesterday with a view to deciding what action to take about their newly completed houses.
Some people whose filling stations and houses are close to the site of the landslide said that with the rainy season getting to its peak, there are fears that the menace might claim more land in the area.
An Onitsha- based businessman, Chief Francis Nnaka who said he has a recently two- storey building close to the affected area called on the federal and state governments to intervene without further delay to save many buildings and land already acquired for development in the area.
Nnaka said: “Government cannot say that it did not know that gully erosion was developing on this spot for over one year.
Last week, it was just about two feet to the road and If they had controlled it at that level, this massive slide would not have occurred. Now, hundreds of millions of naira will be spent to handle it.
“And if nothing is done immediately, both lanes of the expressway will be affected, which might lead to a complete closure of the Oba section of the road.”
