The Federal Government has been asked to commence the dredging of the River Niger and also step up measures to mitigate flood menace and save over twenty thousand families who have been displaced by flood menace in Anambra State.
The call was made yesterday by four civil society groups during a joint press briefing at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity Secretariat, Onitsha Anambra State.
The groups specifically said that only the dredging of the River Niger will stop the perennial flooding that sacks thousands of currently displaced riverine communities in Anambra State, particularly communities in Ogbaru and Ayamelum Local Government Areas in Anambra North Senatorial zone.
They also called for a change of academic calendar for schools in communities affected by flooding and deployment of medical doctors and primary health care givers to provide health care services to victims of flooding in IDP camps across the state.
The groups also urged Anambra State government to provide upland storage facilities for the flood-displaced communities who are predominantly farmers, just as to provide conducive permanent Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camps for them.