Week-long floods cut off Mubende roads

By Luke Kagiri

MUBENDE - Floods caused by heavy rains have cut off three main roads in Mubende district, paralyzing transport for over a week.

The most affected is the road that links the two districts of Mubende and Kiboga. Within the space of a week, the highway has been submerged in two different sections as heavy rains continue to batter the area.

The 60km road that stretches from Myanzi trading center to Bukuya town, Kassanda and farther to Kiboga town is now impassable.

One of the swamps featured along this route is Lusolo near Kassanda town, where a stretch of over half-a-kilometer is flooded.
 

true

Most of the residents in this area are commercial farmers, and others are traders dealing in different commodities which they purchase from bigger towns like Kampala and Mityana, then sell them to the trading centers in the area.

Many farmers transport their agricultural produce to Kampala using this route.

By mid-Friday, over 30 lorries carrying maize were stuck in Bukuya and Kassanda after they failed to cross to either Kiboga district or to Mityana and Kampala.
 

true

Travelers have now resorted to using the longer route from Kassanda to Kalamba trading center on Mubende highway.

“It is so inconveniencing and costly to use the longer route, but we do not have any other solution. We appeal to authorities to work on the bad spots as soon as possible,” said John Mukasa, a driver at Kassanda.

The situation is no different in other sub-counties like Kalwana, Kitenga and Kiyuni, as swamps like Nabakazi, which connects to different sub counties, have also flooded.
 

true

The road that connects from Bukuya to Mubende district through Butologoo and Kitumbi sub counties has also been cut off as the swamp at Kitumbi flooded.

Francis Kibuuka Amooti, the LC5 chairperson for Mubende said most of the district roads are in a sorry state. He said that as district leaders, they have raised the concerns to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) officials several times and have on such occasions been promised action.

The local leader said there are some roads that have been worked on by the district that are in a much better state than those done by UNRA.
 

true

Jane Nakibuuka, an area woman councilor, fears for tough times ahead. “We are stuck with our agricultural products and this may lead us into poverty. Traders cannot travel to Kampala and school children too find it had to go to school,” she said.

“We appeal for help.”

Meanwhile, Ziad Kalema, who is a resident of Kassanda, said promises by authorities that the roads would be worked on are taking too long to be fulfilled.