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Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Floods have cut off a feeder road between Mucwini sub county in Kitgum District and Padibe east sub-county in Lamwo district.
This follows continuous heavy rainfall being experienced in the district that has forced Aringa stream in Pubec Parish, Mucwini Sub county to burst it’s banks.
Amos Too-kwiny, a 68-year-old resident of Gol-ngom village in Pudo parish says the road has remained flooded for nearly a week now and has left many road users stranded.
Too-kwiny who couldn’t drive on the flooded section of the road this morning says he was forced to take a longer four kilometre route from Larakaraka, orii to pudo trading center to access Kitgum municipality.
He notes that many people from Pudo parish have had to take loner routes walking to access Mucwini Health Center III and the trading center for medical treatment and purchasing merchandise.
Too-kwiny called for urgent intervention by the district road engineering department to work on the road.
Another road user Michael Ocaya, a resident of Okol parish, faulted the Kitgum district officials over what he describes as reluctance to repair the road for the last three years.
Geoffrey Oguti, the Mucwini Sub county LCV Councilor says the road has been flooded as a result of shoddy road work done by the district between 2017 and 2018 financial year.
He notes that a smaller concrete culvert was fitted on the road to allow passage of water adding that the murrum surface is too low to resist water flooding it.
Oguti says the problem can be rectified with a much bigger culvert and raising of the murrum surface to enable water pass without flooding on the road and the nearby section of the road.
He says if the matter is not urgently addressed, the water may end up washing away the culvert and a greater composition of the murrum on the road and this will further complicate transport between the two districts.
Patrick Bongomin, Kitgum District Engineer says persistent abnormal rainfalls that have been pounding the region since last year have greatly affected the road network and bridges in the district.
He says although the district has designed an emergency plan to repair the affected roads and the bridges, they are unable to work currently due to lack funds this first quarter.
Bongomin says about 12 culverts of 1,200 millimetres ll soon be transported from the Ministry of Works in Kampala for the repair works to start.
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