Abandoned drainage at Sunyani High Court poses threat to school children, public

Correspondence from Bono Region

A drainage, which was originally scheduled for completion in September 2020, has been abandoned for months.

This drainage, which is located in front of the Sunyani High Court, on the main Sunyani-Kumasi Road continues to attract public uproar and resentment.

Pedestrians, including school children, who mostly use this stretch of the road are worried about how the contractor could abandon that section of the road for months without any sign of returning to the site.

In June 2020, this road project was awarded on contract to expand the drainage to be able to contain the huge volumes of water, that passes through it and subsequently dislodge it to the storm drain on the other side of the road.

Drivers who ply on this section complained for months before the drains were finally constructed and the road opened to vehicular movement in December 2020. Though the road has been opened to vehicular movement, the portion of the road that was affected during the construction of the drains is yet to receive bitumen on those surfaces.

A judicial staff at the Sunyani High Court shared their ordeal with Ghanaweb on the abandoned drainage. "Look at what the dust from that portion of the road has done to our sign board', she pointed to the direction of the sign board and the buildings around. You can imagine what we go through at work," she lamented.

An attendant at the Total Fuel Station, which is a mile opposite the Sunyani High Court, bemoaned the amount of dust that has been accumulated on their pumps as a result of dust from the road.

The attendant appealed to the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to work with the Highway Authority to put bitumen on that side of the road.

A teacher at St James R/C Junior High School vehemently raised the issue of the safety of school children on that road. He said "we have another duty to ensure that our pupils cross this side of the road". According to him, the contractor has failed to cover up the portion of the drains that was used by pedestrians, including the school children.

Mrs Mavis Mensah, a mother, who was seen at the site with her kids, lamented that 'we have to compete with vehicles for walking space here'. Mrs Mensah, together with her kids, appealed to the appropriate authority to ensure that the contractor comes to site to cover up the hole that has been left open for the safety of pedestrians and drivers on that section of the road.