OVER FLOWING BRIDGE WORRIES KITWE’S KANDABWE RESIDENTS
POORworkmanship coupled with other factors contributed to the over flowing of the Kandabwe stream which resulted into the submerging and collapse of the houses constructed on the banks of the stream," Kandabwe residents have said.
And Nkana member of parliament Alexander Chiteme in whose constituency Kandabwe compound is located, said he had recalled the contractor to come and work on the bridge to reduce incidences where the over flowing steam resulted into houses being submerged.
The residents were speaking when Mr Chiteme and Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) toured the area on Monday morning after 248 houses were submerged in the area, while 60 collapsed after heavy rains on Sunday
One of the residents Kennedy Mwape said the contractor who worked on the bridge leading to the compound from the Kitwe, Kalulushi road did poor quality work because he ignored the advice of the residents by putting two culverts instead of three.
Mr Mwape said because of the two culverts which were put instead of three, there was water pressure being created resulting in the stream over flowing and flooding nearby houses.
"When the contractor was working on this bridge, we advised him to put three big culverts to ease the pressure when it rains heavily, but he ignored our advice and decided to put only two culverts and so the shoddy works by the contractor has contributed to the submerging of the houses," Mr Mwape said.
Mr Mwape said apart from the shoddy works, there were also other factors which had contributed to the over flowing of the stream.
"Other factors are that the stream is blocked from somewhere and so pressure is built up and by the time it reaches Kandabwe, it has a lot of pressure busting the banks of the stream and submerging the nearby houses,” he said.
"The situation is worsened because of the two culverts which have been put here instead of three. So to deal with this problem, the stream should first be unblocked by the excavator before proceeding to put three culverts on the bridge. If this is done, the pressure will be relieved and we may not face such big problems in the compound," Mr Mwape said.
And in response, Mr Chiteme said he had summoned the contractor who worked on the bridge to come and re do the work after people in the area complained that the poor workmanship had also contributed to the overflowing of the stream and submerging of the houses on the banks of the stream.
"This issue of the bridge will be handled and I can inform you that I have already summoned the contractor to come and re do the works because people in this area have been saying the two culverts were not enough to handle the water pressure when it rains heavily," Mr Chiteme said.