TODAY can report of looming floods in some parts of the Greater Accra Region when the rain starts this year.
The looming floods, Today gathered, follows the continuous practice of recalcitrant residents who were turning open drains and gutters into their defecation and refuse dump.
On a recent visit to some flood-prone areas in Accra, Today observed that open drains and gutters were engulfed with refuse, comprising solid and liquid wastes and even radioactive materials on the blindside of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
This unhygienic practice by the residents has been a daily routine in communities such as Accra New Town, Kaakudi, Kotobabi,Gbewe, Mallam, Avenor, Christian Village at Achimota, Salaga Market at Odododiodio, Jar-Love at Santa-Maria, Nima, Mamobi, Kotobabi, Glefe and Alajo, all in capital city.
In these communities, the filthy storm open drains and gutters that run through these communities, giving residents a cause to fear flooding, malaria and cholera outbreak.
At Christian Village in Achimota, Today observed that the unsanitary conditions in the community were just unspeakable.
It was further observed that residents who live close to the gutters and drains could not escape the dreadful smell emanating from the gutters and drains.
This was after domestic animals including goats, sheep and cattle have feasted on the refuse.
In fact the smell, Today understands is so pungent that passersby are mostly seen covering their noses with either their hands or handkerchiefs.
What is worrying, the residents told Today, was that this ‘dangerous’ smell had persisted for a long time with the AMA doing nothing about it.
The situation was not different at Nima and Kaakudi as residents appealed to the AMA to consider the construction of a big storm drain, which will serve as a receptacle for refuse.
Today in its findings discovered that part of the drain which joins a bigger storm drain at Nima had been constructed, leaving the bigger portion which runs from Kotobabi.
That, Today understands, was leaving room for some recalcitrant members of the community to throw rubbish around, while others have turned it into their place of convenience.
Some of the residents who spoke to Today at the Salaga Market in Odododiodio blamed the situation on the non-availability of refuse bins in the community, which has forced people to sneak under the cover of darkness to dump their refuse in the drains.
According to them, they do not think people will intentionally throw rubbish into the gutter if there is a rubbish container in the community.
A resident at Jah Love, a suburb of Santa-Maria, Kwaku Antwi, noted that his house had been invaded by mosquitoes, cockroaches and some strange insects from the drain, a situation he said could give rise to malaria and cholera.
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