Perpetual traffic gridlock worries Kurna residents

Residents of Kurna, one of the most densely populated communities in Kano, are appealing to THE government to address the traffic congestion that persists in the area despite the recent road expansion and construction of the Kofar Ruwa underpass along the popular Katsina road in the state metropolis.

The area, which forms part of three metropolitan local governments (Fagge, Dala and Ungogo), continues to grow day-by-day in terms of population but with poor or no social amenities despite the contributions, the communities offer during elections, according to some residents.

The road, from Babangwari to Miltara roundabouts, passes through Bukavu Barracks, Kofar Ruwa, Kurna, Rjiyar Lemo, Bachirawa and Miltara communities where a large population is residing. It is also the only road that links people to Katsina, Daura, and the Niger Republic, thereby making it one of the busiest roads in the state.

The traffic congestion, which occurs mostly in the morning and evening, continues to affect the residents in many ways including inability of children to arrive at their respective schools on time and delay in emergency trips to hospitals.

The residents added that commercial drivers now avoid the road in the evening because of the congestion, a decision that is forcing them to leave markets early.

Malam Labahani Muhammad, who resides in Kurna for the past 20 years, lamented that the congestion had been there for many years and all the attempts by the government to bring it to an end have not yielded the desired result.

“The best solution is to provide other small roads to support the Katsina road. The road, from here, connects up to the Niger Republic and it is the only road used by the residents, interstate travelers and so on,” he said, adding that if the abandoned Kofar Dawanau road is completed, it will reduce the congestion.

The Kurna Youth Concern Association (KYCA) also pleaded with the government to put aside political differences and address the traffic crisis, calling on all lawmakers to join hands with the executive to fix the problem.

Speaking through its Secretary, Sani Nazifi, the association said it had once written to the state governor on the issue of the congestion and some dilapidated roads in the area, which if repaired would bring succour to the people, but the government only sent engineers to inspect the roads.

Some tricycle riders also admitted that there was the availability of passengers in the area but if they ply the road, they would run at a loss because of the unending gridlock.

Mansur Musa, a resident of Kurna who owns a tricycle, said he usually starts work around 7 am and no matter how much he would get from a passenger, he would not come back to ply the road until after 10pm when the congestion had subsided.

Speaking to Kano/Jigawa Chronicle, the Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Road Transport Agency (KAROTA), Nabilusi Abubakar K/Na’isa said they had recently repaired some parts of the road that were damaged, adding that some U-turns were also blocked to reduce the congestion.

“The holdup in Kurna, Rijiyar Lemo, Bachirawa axis is caused by a number of things. Number one, the shoulder of the road has eroded; two, traders that are doing their businesses on the side of the road and lastly, the African grains market (Dawanau), which make the road very busy with a lot of trucks and trailers.

“Two out of this can be stopped. We recently approved some money for Kano Road Maintenance Agency (KARMA) to clear the shoulders so that people can park and as you can see the work is ongoing. We also asked those traders that mount their containers on the road to remove them, which some of them did and we demolished those that did not comply. Now, there is an improvement in the area and the holdup has reduced,” he said.