Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Residents of Ngorongo, Kariua, Ndekei and Kamwangi villages in Gatundu North are up in arms over the dusty Ngorongo-Kamwangi road that has now been blamed for causing respiratory diseases in the area.

The dusty road which is about a 6-kilometre stretch is the link between major government offices in the area and is mostly used for the transportation of farm produce.

Farmers from the area who farm sweet potatoes, maize, cabbages, and avocados among other products claim that the pathetic state of the road has affected their farming business.

Also affected are motorbike riders who argued that the sorry state of the road has been seeing customers use alternative longer routes, a situation that has been forcing them to make losses.

“We have been edged out of business simply because locals are now using alternative routes to get to their destinations. Even the few who dare to use this stretch go home complaining. We deserve better as residents,” Kamau Ndekei, a boda boda rider, said.

Residents protested that the billows of dust that have been swirling into their homes have also affected their daily activities such as washing clothes and cooking.

The stretch that has been at the centre of protests by locals who have also accused local leaders of failing to address the issue that borders two Wards -Gituamba and Chania.

Residents decried that the dust has further sparked the closure of several businesses in the vast shopping centres.

“Our homes are no longer livable since the dust has been penetrating even inside our bedrooms. This road is key to the economic development of this region but it has been neglected over the years,” Simon Njenga, a resident said.

While calling for temporal solutions such as the regular sprinkling of water along the stretch, the locals advocated for its tarmacking saying it would spur social-economic development in the area.