Agbogbloshie drainage system requires urgent attention – Residents
Residents of Agbogbloshie-Konkomba, a suburb in Accra, have lamented the deplorable state of the drainage system in the community, calling on duty-bearers to as a matter of urgency, fix them.
The drainage system in Agbogbloshie-Konkomba according to the residents was a disaster, as it continued to threaten the safety of residents.
The poor nature of the drainage system results in flooding with the slightest rainfall, affecting homes and businesses, while leaving residents to paddle through filthy waters.
In a recent interview with some dwellers of the community, they expressed deep concerns about the deplorable state of their drainage systems. “We’re tired of living in fear of the rain,” said Mr. Frimpong, a frustrated resident. “Our drainage system is a joke. We need a proper plan to fix it, not just temporary fixes but a long term fix,” he added.
In view of the devastating condition of the drainage systems, emphases are laid on poor construction, lack of maintenance, and inadequate waste bins as the major contributors to the problem.
A food vendor, Maame Mansa, expressed her concerns, indicating that some residents and traders have turned the drains into a dumping site.
“We the people of this community are our own demons. People living around the gutters have turned it into a site for dumping of rubbish because they don’t want to spend money paying rubbish collectors. If you can stay here for at least 30 minutes, you will see people coming to throw rubbish into the gutters. Nothing is being done about it so they feel confident to even dump the refuse in the drain in a broad day light because they know that nobody will do anything to them. If there are people to guard this place and punish these people, all these things would stop,” she lamented.
The consequences of these bad drainage systems are far-reaching; flooding, damage to properties and increased waterborne diseases are the heartbreaking realities of Agbogbloshie-Konkomba.
Madam Delali, a resident of the community, bemoans the possibility of another flooding if there should be any heavy downpour.
“Though the rainy season is subsiding, we are still griped in fear. The neighbourhood gets seriously flooded whenever it rains heavily because the gutters are not properly constructed and the few we have are also heavily choked with rubbish and so, the water cannot flow into the Korle-lagoon,” she observed.
A pharmacist, Mr Joe, also highlighted the implications of the poor drainage systems on the health of the inhabitants, attributing it to the lack of rubbish containers in the community.
“There is nothing good to say about these drainage channels. It is posing a great health hazard to residents. The health issues we keep treating here are mostly malaria. Both children and adults get rushed here almost every day with malaria cases. We are all affected by the situation and we are appealing to the government and Accra Metropolitan Assembly together with the Environmental Protection Agency to do their bid and come to our aid by providing the community with rubbish containers, in order to curb the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and widespread of diseases in the community,” he noted.
BY CYNTHIA NNANKORLA BIKARL, STUDENT OF UNIMAC-GIJ
