Accra drains to be expanded
The City of Accra would soon see a massive drainage expansion which would make open drains the thing of the past as part of the city’s redevelopment agenda in an effort to end the city’s perennial floodings.
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The Executive Secretary of Accra Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Drainage Alleviation Project, under the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Robert S. Ansah, told The Mirror that the major contributory factor of the perennial floodings was due to choked gutters, therefore, covering the drains would prevent them from silting.
”The dredging of the Korle Lagoon and the de-silting of the Odaw drains are part of the fight to end the floodings. Other major drainage basins in the Accra Metropolis such as the Lafa, Chemu, Kpeshie, Osu Klottey, Morkwei, and Songor lagoons will all be dredged,” he said.
With respect to the recent flooding in some parts of the city, Mr Ansah noted that unlike previous floodings where it took a longer period for the water to clear off, in the recent flooding, the water could flow quickly due to the de-silting of the Odaw.
He urged people to see the fight to end the perennial flooding in Accra as a shared responsibility and help sustain it.
Havoc
Meanwhile, residents in parts of Alajo, Mallam, Adabraka, Kaneshie and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were still counting their loses when The Mirror team toured the City.
The Odaw River, which is being dredged, broke its banks, with excess water spilling into nearby homes and business ventures during the heavy downpour.
Parts of Adabraka and the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) Towers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area appeared to be the worst hit, as structures along the two lanes leading to the Odawna Market were almost submerged in water.
At the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, some of the traders who spoke to The Mirror blamed the floodings on poor drainage.
“The drains here are not big and they are not able to contain the volumes of water when it rains. It is really making this place very unsafe for us. We are appealling to government to expand the drains,” a phone dealer, Nana Yaw told The Mirror.
Some residents of Alajo were seen scooping rainwater from their compounds days after the downpour.
They complained that some people still built on waterways which had redirected the water into their homes.
They called on the AMA to revive the pulling down of buildings on waterways.
GMet
Meanwhile, the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) predicts that the city will continue to witness more rains in the coming days and weeks.