by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Residents of Sabon Tasha, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State, are undoubtedly facing untold hardship, following the worsening condition of the Sabo-Garage Road, popular known as “Sabo-by-Garage” among Bus Town Service (BTS) operators.
The inhabitants are wallowing in object poverty and hunger due to deteriorated condition of the road, which has crippled business activities in the area that have been known for.
Sabon-Tasha-Garage Road was abandoned by (Ronches) contractors about three years ago when it was awarded for reconstruction under the immediate past administration of Governor Nasir El-Rufai – presumably for lack of funding.
Business activities of all categories have reportedly collapsed on the old State major road linking Sabon Tasha communities to Kaduna Main Town. So strategic, and central to Ungwan Sunday and Ungwan Yelwa, both the densely-populated communities are located along both sides of the road.
Awarded about three years ago, the old Kachia Road was 90 percent uncompleted, according to an expert rating, before the change of batten, in 2023, putting the inhabitants off tracks due to flooded ground water – with erosion collapsing streets.
Worse still, the spiral effect of the abandoned construction has badly affected the functionality of the rest tracks with almost all the bodies of links-road into the communities of Ungwan Sunday and Yelwa washing out, leaving them in a very poor state of disrepair.
Businesses of transportation are the worse hit, as these are completely deadlocked. Commercial transport services, including BTS, have stopped plying the road known to be more accessible, cheaper and directly linking the communities of Sabon Tasha and Television Garage to Kaduna Township.
About the third round years of heavy downpour experienced after the stoppage of construction works on the road of about a half kilometers, the level of destruction is quite disastrous and, obviously, very discomforting for human habitation.
As at last count, vehicles hardly ply the road from beginning to end, between Barnawa Junction and “Before Bridge” except residents who are close by, using it for crossing when absolutely necessary due to proximity.
A cement dealer, who spoke to our reporter on anonymity, admitted having seen the State Governor, Uba Sani, inspecting the road – with news report on ‘plans to fix it soon.’
He, however, strongly appealed to Governor Uba Sani’s “people-friendly administration” to intervene in record time, and help the communities out of hardship it has deeply plunged them into due to long years of abandonment.
Many aggrieved residents, have wrongly or rightly attributed the delay in fixing the road to its high nocturnal activities, as “Halima Junction” boosts the road with all sorts of social life activities, including night beer parlor consumption, drinks, fishes and chicken roasting, foods and beverages.