Dan-Dishe community seeks help over flood, poor infrastructure

Residents of Dan-Dishe community in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State are facing a harsh reality as poor road network and absence of drainage system have led to persistent flooding and transportation challenges in the past, Daily Trust Saturday reports.

The community, which is home to over 5,000 people, has been struggling to access basic necessities of life, like healthcare, education and markets due to the deplorable state of their roads.

The situation has been exacerbated by the ongoing rainy season, which has turned the already bad roads into impassable streams. Vehicles are unable to ply the roads, leaving residents stranded and forced to wade through the floodwaters to get to their destinations.
“We are facing a lot of challenges due to the rainfall. Whenever it rains, we suffer and our kids cannot go out for errands or even go to school, and we don’t get public transport to take us to hospitals in case of emergencies. It has been like this for over 20 years.

“We plead to this good government to help us and build good roads and gutters for us,” Hadiza Abubakar, a resident of Dan Dishe, said.
The community has appealed to the Gwale Local Government Council to intervene and repair its roads, but so far, no action has been taken. The council has promised to look into the matter, but residents are still waiting for action.

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Another resident, Aliyu Ismail says, “We have a lot of problems. As you can see our roads are bad, whenever it rains we struggle to go to work because of the flood, or we end up being late. There was a time we had a pregnant woman in labour but we couldn’t get her to hospital; we had to stop at some place and she gave birth there.

“We are pleading to the government to help us. Previous governments failed to help us and we depend on you to change our lives.”
The situation in Dan Dishe is a stark reminder of the neglect and abandonment that many rural communities face in Kano. As the government continues to grapple with infrastructure challenges, communities like Dan-Dishe are left to suffer.

Another resident, Rabiu Bala says, “The rain is a threat to us, because whenever it comes the water floods the area to the extent that we can’t even see the road and people fall in gutters and get injured and children often drown. We plead and we believe they will help us.”

Residents of Dan-Dishe are struggling to navigate the treacherous terrain, with many roads rendered impassable due to massive potholes and erosion caused by relentless floods. The community’s infrastructure is crumbling, leaving many stranded and desperate for relief.
“We don’t have gutters, we suffer from numerous diseases, such as malaria,” another resident, Haruna Suleiman, cried out. He said, “We plead with the government to help us. Some years ago, there was a very heavy rain that flooded our houses and the whole neighbourhood because we didn’t have gutters for the water to follow.”

The community has been plagued by poor road conditions for years, but the recent floods have pushed the situation to a crisis point. Vehicles are frequently getting stuck in the mud, and pedestrians are forced to wade through knee-deep water to reach their destinations.
Munir Suleiman, a commercial tricycle driver said, “Our machines always get stuck on this bad road and portholes. I don’t like coming to this area to get passengers. The only reason I come is because of students that I take to schools.
“Whenever I carry pregnant women, I fear they may end up giving birth on the way because of the potholes, or some of them could die due to the suffering they go through.

“Some end up having seizures due to the suffering they go through. My tricycle is always getting faulty and when the rain gets much, no tricycle owner wants to come to this community; they suffer lack of transportation and we also lose customers.”
The main road connecting Dan-Dishe to the nearby town is impassable, with large potholes and eroded patches caused by flooding. The community’s water supply has also been contaminated, leaving residents without access to clean drinking water.
Muhammad Basiru said, “The rain has just started but we’re already in a bad state. We get infected by diseases due to lack of gutters and dirty water that contaminates the community, such as malaria, typhoid and fever. We’ve lost sick children because we can’t even get transportation to hospitals.”

As the residents of Dan-Dishe continue to endure these challenges, hope still remains that their voices will be heard, and appropriate solutions will be implemented to alleviate their plight and restore a sense of normalcy to their lives.