A member of the Kisumu county assembly has said he will move a motion seeking to control operations of open quarries in the region.
This comes barely five days after two people, among them a child, drowned in an open quarry in Kudho area.
Railways ward representative Isaiah Onyango claimed the open quarry was created by a road construction company that was extracting murram, and with the ongoing rains pounding the region, it was now filled with water.
He said he will table a motion in the assembly next week seeking to compel contractors to adhere to the agreement made between residents and them in regards to the quarries that are now getting filled with water posing a risk to residents.
"These contractors are supposed to ensure the quarries are filled after extracting murram which they have not been doing leading to such tragedies," said Onyango.
Before taking the matter to the assembly, Onyango stated that he will meet with residents and the county's environment and city departments to agree on how better the quarries should be filled.
Mary Adhiambo, a resident said she was worried that the open quarries will continue claiming the lives of residents.
"The county government should change the quarries into dumpsites instead of living them open to avoid such tragedies," said Adhiambo.
But Kisumu City manager Doris Ombara said it will be difficult to transfer solid waste from the Kachok dumpsite to fill the open quarries.
"This has to go through a long process including the National Environment Management Authority since we would not want to contaminate water with the solid waste," said Ombara.
She stated that her office had issued a notice, warning contractors to fill all open quarries, but only few had heeded to that.
"All open quarries that are no longer functional, must be reclaimed, rehabilitated and covered," she said.