Residents and business owners around Jakande Estate Gate, Oke Afa, in the Isolo area of Lagos State, have expressed concern over the heaps of refuse in the area.

When PUNCH Metro visited the community on Saturday, the waste was seen littering the median of the estate road leading to Isheri Oshun

Dumped indiscriminately around the traffic light end of the road, the residents also expressed fear that it might pose a health crisis.

Speaking to our correspondent, a vulcaniser, Kazeen Balogun, lamented that the refuse spends more than a week before being cleared.

He said, ?What you see here used to be more than this. Sometimes, it stays a week or more before LAWMA comes to take them away. The odour is terrible, and it poses a serious health risk, especially for those of us working here. Some of us already have health challenges, and having to inhale this stench almost daily is very frustrating.?

A shop owner, Olayemi Abiodun, said people come from far away to dump refuse on the spot.

She said, ?The refuse is not dumped here by residents alone. People come from as far as Ijegun to dispose of their waste here. Some drive up, fling the refuse out of their vehicles, and leave. The smell is unbearable. It is also embarrassing that the major road of an estate like Jakande looks this way.?

A commercial tricycle operator, who identified himself simply as Idowu, also complained about the situation.

According to him, passengers avoid waiting around spots where the refuse is kept due to the foul smell.

?Sometimes, passengers avoid standing around the places where the refuse is. Those who board our tricycles cover their noses and also complain about the odour. I have been plying this road for a while, and this is how it always has been,? he added.

Calling for the immediate intervention of the government, a resident, Idowu Odunsi, said that a total enforcement against the dumping of refuse would reduce

He said, ?If you look at some parts of the median, you will discover they just packed some of the dirt there.? Just as they finished parking them, people started to dump there again. This is because there is no one to call them to order. Once this starts to happen, changes will occur.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Shade Kadiri, did not pick up calls made to her telephone line. A message sent to her had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed. (PUNCH)

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