Wednesday, April 21, 2021
  • About Us
  • ImagiNATION
  • Adverts
  • Rate Card
  • Contact Us
The Nation Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Front Page

Death flows in Mudi river

by Frank Namangale
07/12/2014
in Front Page, National News
3 min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedinLinkedinShare via Email
The filth in Mudi River which is a threat to lives
The filth in Mudi River which is a threat to lives

The heavily polluted Mudi River in Blantyre poses a serious health risk that can see some residents developing deadly diseases such as cancer, an environmental health expert has warned.

Mudi River is among many rivers in the country seriously polluted by industrial activities by manufacturing companies that dump their chemical waste directly into the river.

RelatedHeadlines

ACB State House probe nears completion

Funding woes choke K31bn rice project

Prepare for life without tobacco—Chakwera

City residents also hugely contribute to this serious pollution due to the construction of pit latrines along Nasolo River in Blantyre’s populous Ndirande Township, purposely designed to throw faeces into the river.

Blantyre City Council (BBC) has disclosed that a recent mapping survey the council conducted established that 230 toilets were constructed in Ndirande along the banks of Nasolo River.

Nasolo River pours into Mudi River, contributing to the massive pollution of the river and the resultant dreadful stinking that engulfs surrounding areas the river passes through.

From the broken sewer pipes and the toilets constructed along the banks of Nasolo River, said BCC head of department of pollution control Stone Nkhondodwe, faeces drop into the Nasolo and Mudi rivers.

Save Kumwenda, a lecturer in the department of environmental health at the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic, said in an interview that down the stream people use the water for bathing, washing vegetables and other foodstuffs, warning some of the strange diseases people are suffering from could be as a result of that.

Said Kumwenda: “There are some companies that also dump garbage into Mudi River, you are likely to have chemicals in that and that is detrimental to our bodies.

“There is a possibility that some diseases could be a result of this. In worst cases, these chemicals can cause cancer, skin diseases and respiratory and kidney problems.”

The environmental expert said the best solution to the problem is to control the pollution and where vandalism is rampart, to construct concrete bars to protect sewer pipes.

Kumwenda also recommended implementation of Water Policy Act, which he said was passed in Parliament and provides penalties to the offending individuals and companies that damage environment.

The council’s public relations manager Anthony Kasunda said in a response to a questionnaire that pollution of Mudi River is partly due to a vandalised sewer system, resulting in some of the waste going into the river.

Said Kasunda: “As much as there might be some companies that dump waste directly in the river, it will be difficult at the moment to single out such companies until such a time when we fix the sewer system.

“The council has been monitoring developments not only in Mudi River but also other rivers in the city. We are in the process of fixing the sewer system and once that is done, we should be able to pinpoint companies that directly dump their waste in the rivers.”

He said the cleaning of Mudi River is top on the activities to be carried out under the Keep Blantyre City Clean and Green and a budget of K67 million for fixing the sewer system has been put aside.

Nkhondowe pointed out the need to upgrade the entire sewer system constructed in 1970s and 80s when the population of Blantyre City was 200 000 as opposed to today’s 600 000-plus residents.

Some residents in Blantyre use unprotected water sources such as Mudi River as only 45 000 households and institutions are connected to piped water, according to Blantyre Water Board (BWB) public relations officer Pricilla Mateyu.

Mateyu explained that from the 45 000 piped water connections, about K1.5 million people in Blantyre and others from neighbouring districts use the piped water from BWB.

Mateyu said other districts that have access to piped water from BWB are Thyolo up to Thunga, Chikwawa Road up to Milare, Chiradzulu, Lunzu and Matindi.

Avatar
Frank Namangale
Previous Post

‘Govt will not influence Cashgate cases’

Next Post

Tafatatha competes at Fina World Cup

Related Posts

Trapence: The delay is frustrating
National News

ACB State House probe nears completion

April 21, 2021
Chilima | The Nation Online
National News

Funding woes choke K31bn rice project

April 21, 2021
Chakwera and the First Lady admire tobacco at the auction floors
National News

Prepare for life without tobacco—Chakwera

April 21, 2021
Next Post
Tafatatha swimming closeup | The Nation Online

Tafatatha competes at Fina World Cup

Opinions and Columns

My Turn

Honour Malewezi posthumously

April 21, 2021
Big Man Wamkulu

Hot babe wants to trap me, should I ran?

April 18, 2021
Political Uncensored

Mighty mess!

April 18, 2021
My Thought

Chakwera’s indecisiveness will be his downfall

April 18, 2021
https://www.mwnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WFP-Afikepo-1-2.pdf https://www.mwnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WFP-Afikepo-1-2.pdf https://www.mwnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WFP-Afikepo-1-2.pdf

Trending Stories

  • FB IMG 1618917210807 | The Nation Online

    ‘Tobacco is dying crop’

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Suspension without pay sparks debate

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • NGOs hail Chakwera, urge caution

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chakwera unhappy with Neef bottlenecks

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Refugees ask govt to review relocation order

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Values
  • Our Philosophy
  • Editorial policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism disclaimer
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use

© 2021 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation

© 2020 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.