By Sibonginkosi Maphosa
Matebeland Institute for Human Rights ( MIHR) has appealed to the local authority , Bulawayo City Council to urgently facilitate closing up of Pelandaba West Ponds and other ponds around the city which have become a death trap.
This comes as three lives including that of a juvenile have been lost within a week .
Speaking to Skyz metro fm news reporter Sibonginkosi Maphosa , the chairman of MIHR , Khumbulani Maphosa appealed to the city fathers to take into serious consideration the closing up of the ponds as they had become a jeopardy to Bulawayo residents.
“Bulawayo has lost three people who have died in these disused open pits that are found in different suburbs which are a result of sand abstraction , these are not only an environmental risk but also a threat to people.
We are calling on the local authority to move in and close these pits once and for all”
Last week a 15 year old boy drowned in Pelandaba West Ponds as he was searching for worms to go for fishing and on Valentine’s day two bodies of men aged 18 and 20 were retrieved in the same pond by the Zimbabwe Republic Police after drowning.
The ponds which are a result of sand poaching have not only come as an environmental hazard but also as a threat to human life.
