27/04/2023
Anxiety in Enugu community over poisoned stream
There is trouble in Nomeh Unataeze Community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State. The community is in quandary because Nvuna River, their only source of drinking water and for other domestic uses, was allegedly contaminated recently by effluence from an ethanol company, D-Hap Integrated Services Limited, located at Okagu Ituku, in the neighbouring Awgu Local Government Area.
With the sad development, many people from the area who drank the water were reportedly hospitalized, while unconfirmed reports indicated that one or two deaths were recorded. A young man from the community, Orji Chinedu, told Daily Sun that his mother, Mrs. Gladys Okonkwo, died after drinking the contaminated water.
“They produce some chemicals that we don’t know and that chemical is killing people. Now, my mother is dead. Ask people about Gladys Okonkwo in Nomeh. The woman drank the water and died. Even the fishes are dead. My brother picked one fish from the river and he is still having stomach problems after eating the fish.
“My own mother is dead, who will give me food again? And their own mother is alive and giving them food. There is no water to wash clothes and to drink,” Chinedu lamented.
Unfortunately, a similar incident occurred two years ago. In the community’s petition to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, dated April 17, 2023, they said: “This recent poisoning of our river comes barely two years since this company channelled chemical waste from their factory into the Nvuna River in March 2021, destroying the aquatic life source, farms, environment and, invariably, the health and wellbeing of Nomeh people.
“While still smarting and recovering from their previous act, D-Hap has again thrown Nomeh into greater distress despite a directive by your government that they stop production since 2021.”
According to the petition titled “SOS Appeal: Poisoning of Nvuna River by D-Hap Integrated Services Limited, Enugu,” residents wer
