By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

LAGOS — LAGOS State Government has warned residents against indiscriminate dumping of refuse, especially on rail-corridors. The government added that anyone caught will face the wrath of the law.

This came as it unfolded plans to establish the Lagos Water Council, aimed at ensuring effective and efficient regulation and protection of all underground water in the state.

Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, specifically advised those living along the rail-corridors to desist from dumping refuse on rail lines, declaring that offenders would be arrested and prosecuted henceforth.

Speaking through the Public Relations Department, the Authority’s Managing Director, Mr. Ola Oresanya, lamented that “the unwholesome practice is capable of spreading diseases, defacing the environment and endangering lives and property of residents along the corridor.

“Railway transportation takes care of a sizeable demand of the transportation needs of a modest percentage of Lagos residents. Dumping refuse along the rail routes can hamper the efficiency and safety of rail as a means of transportation.”

Meantime, while speaking on plans to establish the Lagos Water Council, Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who announced this at the first phase of stakeholders’ forum on sensitisation/awareness programme, with the theme Development of Water and Sanitation Policy for Lagos State, said it would help to create the lacking synergy between water and sanitation in the state.

Bello said: “There must be a synergy between water and sanitation. There must be a council that should regulate it. We haven’t had this for years. The state government was just supplying water to the public and the private individuals are also just erecting boreholes in their homes without government knowledge.”