Covered drains – Are plans still well advanced?
“Plans are well advanced”- That is one of the most popular admissions of our politicians. We have heard that familiar sentence repeated over and over whenever politicians want to admit indirectly that they have fallen short of the people’s expectations.
Advertisement
And so last week, in the midst of the floods that hit Accra and other parts of the country, I asked the obvious question, “Can open drains ever be a thing of the past,” trying to borrow another of those over-used sentences which carry very little meaning. A friend instantly joked, “Plans are well advanced”.
Listening to experts after experts over the past week and in times past, it is obvious that one of the repeated and perhaps the biggest mistake that has brought us this far in terms of perennial floods in our cities is open drains. But why are we still constructing roads with open drains, seeing that the ills of uncovered gutters are many? My question may probably be the umpteenth one but it is still valid, seeing that we are not getting any results and the situation gets dire anytime it rains heavily.
Almost every adult Ghanaian is concerned that we invest so much money in constructing or repairing major roads, sometimes at the inconvenience of residents in the area, pedestrians and motorists. Unfortunately, however, the right things are not being done.
Open drains, first of all, are unsightly. Aesthetically, they do not add beauty to our road constructions. I was recently in Prampram and mine; I could not believe a huge open drain by the side of one of the roads in the town. What purpose does that huge drain in the middle of the town serve?
Open drains are potential causes of accidents. The worse of it all is that not only do they breed deadly mosquitoes but unfortunately, some lawless individuals use such drains as their rubbish dumps. Whenever it rains, the rubbish accumulated blocks the free flow of water and hence the floods.
It beats understanding as to why we cannot outlaw open drains in modern-day construction works. Last Thursday’s sudden floods in parts of Accra must be a final warning for any advanced plans to be quickened and dealt with this time around.
For those of us who actually experienced the floods, we count it lucky that the floods occurred at daytime, seeing there are still people who live in makeshift kiosks near open gutters and waterways. Then also are the many more that sleep outside in the open. The number of casualties could have been greater.
Other Trending Stories
Last Thursday’s floods took us unawares. For me, it was one of my worst days of driving in the rain. With some 35 years experience in driving, I had never come face-to-face with real self-testing of my skills than when I waded through that heavy downpour and consequent floods that hit parts of Accra West that afternoon.
I had done a few rounds in the morning of June 5. Though it was raining, there were no floods in Kaneshie as I drove into town through the Abbosey Okai Mosque and through to the Graphic Road. It was around one o’clock in the afternoon when I made a stop at a friend’s office. She told me about a text message she had received indicating that parts of Accra West, including Kaneshie, were flooded.
I decided to go home early, using another alternative route available to me – off the Graphic Road to join the Agbobloshie to the Abbosey Okai Mosque road. That was the beginning of a gruelling driving experience. The Odaw River, near Beyeeman Freezing Centre, was almost full with tons of plastic waste floating on top.
Just as I was descending the Graphic Road Bridge, I could see that the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle, which was ahead, was choked with traffic so I tried a detour, turning to my left. The entire area behind Japan Motors and Check Point were completely flooded and reached above one’s knee. Traffic was quite heavy as motorists tried to manoeuvre their way in the floods.
Luckily, I made it through the heavy floods. Other drivers were not so lucky. Several taxis had parked, some having had water entering their vehicles. Unfortunately,