By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA
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On-going dredging of Odaw drain
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly
(AMA) has created a buffer along the major Odaw drain that runs through Accra,
while dredging is ongoing to ensure the free flow of water in the drain along
its entire stretch at all times.
Hitherto, the entire stretch of the
drain that ends up at the Korle Lagoon and into the sea was so silted that it
overflowed anytime it rained for just a few minutes, resulting in floods that
affected a large area.
A drive along the Odaw drain from
the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the Graphic Road yesterday showed the vast expanse
of space that has been created after the massive demolitions in Accra since the
June 3 flood and fire disasters hit the city.
Tour
of demolition sites
During a tour of the now cleared
areas along the Odaw drain, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly (AMA), Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, said the ultimate aim of the
exercise was to ensure easy and unobstructed flow of water from the Odaw River
into the Korle Lagoon and the sea.
Dredging and demolition were
ongoing, while the debris was being cleared.
Dr Vanderpuije said as a result of
the clearing of the unauthorised structures along the main drain and the
dredging that were ongoing; the area did not flood after the rains on Friday,
July 10, 2015.
Some people who had erected
makeshift structures to shield themselves from the sun at the Old Fadama end of
the drain along the Korle Lagoon were instructed to remove the structures
immediately.
Preventing
encroachers
Dr Vanderpuije indicated that the
AMA would police the area and erect a wall from the bridge at Old Fadama to the
bridge over the Korle Lagoon to keep off enchroachers.
He also said the AMA had the full
collaboration of the leaders at Old Fadama who had formed their own task force
to police and prevent the re-siting of structures along the drain.
Meanwhile, an extensive demolition
exercise over the weekend led to the removal of containers, kiosks and concrete
structures illegally erected behind the Neoplan Bus Terminal and the Pedestrian
Shopping Mall, along the rail tracks at Avenor and the banks of the Korle
Lagoon at Old Fadama.
Writer’s email: edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh
This
story was first published by the Daily
Graphic on July 13, 2015
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