By Mokwugwo Solomon
In line with Governor Charles Soludo's drive to make Anambra State the cleanest in the country, the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra, aka OCHA brigade, raided many streets known for littering the public space with refuse.
Major areas stormed by OCHA brigade during the exercise include Obodougwu Road, Okpoko Junction, Onitsha/Asaba Expressway, and the Upper Iweka axis.
At Obodougwu Road, some residents, John Nweke, Grace Okoli, Joseph Ikechukwu and others commended the activities of the agency, while thanking the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, for creating Ocha Brigade, which according to them, has created enabling environment for geunue traders to do their businesses without disturbance.
Some defaulters arrested by the agency admitted they were served quit notice but said they were not able to secure shops inside Ogbaru Relief Main Market or other markets around the area due to their high cost.
An officer of the agency, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that several notices have been served to those trading on non- authorized places to vacate, but that all the notices fell into deaf ears.
He pointed that the agency would not relent until all forms of street trading, mostly on water drainages, were stopped completely.
He said, "It has become immparetive now that rainy season is fast approaching that we have to put everything in place to avoid flooding within the commercial city of Onitsha.
"As you can see, the popular Upper Iweka now have a good look as most people doing businesses around those areas are now appreciating the importance of keeping their surroundings clean. Most people are now making use of public toilets within the area," he added.