Dome Residents Wade Through Water As Broken Footbridges Remain Unfixed

Following the collapse of a footbridge over a stream at Dome, a suburb of Accra, several months ago, residents, including schoolchildren, have been left with no option than to wade through the stream on a daily basis to go about their businesses.

Their counterparts at Dome Old Town on another stretch of the town face a similar challenge as their footbridge has completely broken down.

The situation becomes worse whenever the area experiences torrential rainfall. 

At Old Town, some residents explained that the construction of the footbridge was initiated and funded by them but had been left unattended to as they were currently out of funds.

Their worry mainly had to do with children who used those routes.

Visit

A visit by The Mirror showed that the only footbridge currently available at the Dome Old Town, constructed with some wood and metal, had a lot of work to be done as it appeared weak.

However, more than three communities in the area have been using these bridges linking them to the main street over the years.

This reporter counted not less than 10 schoolchildren trying to walk through the stream engulfed by refuse.

Sanitation

Similarly, another part of the area known as Ayigbe Town had been engulfed in filth and also faced other challenges.

Some residents had built on lands demarcated for roads while others dumped refuse in the open.

The indiscriminate dumping of refuse had resulted in the choking of most drains and waterways in the area.

The area also had a permanent stench which exposed the residents to several health risks.

In an interview with a retired Deputy Director of the National Commission for Civic Education and an Elder of the Dome Council of Elders, Mr Samuel Atoa, he said the collapsed footbridge at the old town was worrying, especially as the area was surrounded by schools.

He recalled how occasionally he had to monitor some of the schoolchildren who would want to use the improvised footbridge.

“Previously we were maintaining the bridge by moving from house to house to solicit for funds. Sometimes, l take the cost myself to fix but now we need help.

The focus is to construct it all over again.

We have been able to build a pillar.

We are calling on all, especially benevolent organisations, to come to our aid,” he said.

On the issue of filth, he explained that “the moment you accept the assembly’s proposal to take bins for your household, that is the end.

They will never come for them when they are full and that’s the result you see all over”.

For his part, the Chairman of the Dome Council of Elders, Mr Solomon Allan, stated that his main worry had to do with the encroachment on the roads as that had blocked access to some parts of the community.