Rain displaces hundreds in Lwera
Some of the displaced settlers in Lwera at a camp near Lukaya Town where they are currently staying. PHOTO BY SADAT MBOGO
KALUNGU- Torrential rain has caused flooding in Lwera swamp on Kampala –Masaka highway, displacing more than 500 residents including Chinese investors setting up factories in the area.
Homes, gardens and several sand-mining sites have been submerged by floods triggered off by three days of downpour.
The most affected villages are Kamaliba and Kamuwunga in Lukaya Town Council in Kalungu District.
The flood waters, which are on the right side of the highway as one travels to Masaka from Kampala, are also threatening to submerge the highway.
More than 70 pupils of Kamuwunga Primary School are no longer attending classes because the road connecting to the school was also cut off by the floods. Many sand-mining companies have also suspended work because there is no access to mines and even trucks ferrying sand can no longer access the sites.
Some residents, who were away by the time the floods began, use small canoes to access their homes to salvage what was left of their belongings.
Lwera swamp, which stretches about 20 kilometres along Kampala –Masaka highway, is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria.
Most of the victims of the floods have pitched camp at temporary shelter set up by Lukaya Town Council Mayor Gerald Ssenyondo. Most of the affected are women and children who are in urgent need of medicine, food and shelter.
Sand mining
Mr David Kureeba, the programme officer at National Association of Professional Environmentalists, blames the flooding in Lwera on the uncontrolled sand-mining taking place in the area.
He said to prevent flooding, there is a need for government to promote environmentally-friendly planning policies and inculcate into people habits that are supportive and protective of the environment.
Sand-mining has of recent become a lucrative business due to the fast-growing construction sector.
Recently, environmentalists raised concern over the increasing sand-mining in major swamps like Lwera, saying excessive excavation of sand will spark off a serious ecological disaster.
