Flood: 200 pupils escape death in Enugu

Flood: 200 pupils escape death in Enugu

By Aisabor Osaloboh

ENUGU—Tempers were, yesterday, frayed in Enugu State following the collapse of a 16-feet tall perimeter fence bounding Spring of Life School, constructed right inside New Haven River, at Bisala Road, Independence Layout, Enugu.

The collapse,caused water from the New Haven River to surge into the school premises forcing pupils to scamper to safety for fear of drowning.

This came on a day, Vanguard checks at Iva Valley railway line at the Ekulu Primary School axis showed that land grabbers have built expansive buildings right on top of the rail line leading to Iva Valley where Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, coal evacuation station is located.

NRC used to evacuate coal from Enugu coal deposit for their locomotive engines in the early 80s at the Onyeama Mines but went moribund due to the failure of successive Federal Government to run the operations of NRC.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, had in a bid to woo voters from the south-east geopolitical zone, promised to revive the huge moribund coal deposits in Enugu to complement electricity generation in the country through Coal-for-Power initiative which has now been foreclosed by the action of the developers.

When Vanguard visited the Spring of Life School, which had no play ground and other facilities befitting of a school, the management had in a face saving measure, removed the signpost with the school’s inscription even as it hired thugs to scare away journalists who thronged the venue to take photographs.