Bridge brings relief to residents of Kasena-Nankana; curbs drownings

The completion of a bridge in Nyangua in the Kasena-Nankana Municipal Assembly of the Upper East Region has brought great relief to residents of the area this rainy season.

Completed in April just before the rains set in this year, the huge concrete bridge which connects Nyangua and other communities to the rest of the municipality has become an important facility in the area, allowing residents and travellers to easily go across a river that passes through the community.

Previously, accessing some parts of the community and surrounding villages was a challenge especially in rainy seasons when water levels in the river basin rise. Residents, particularly school children, had no option than to wade waist-deep across to attend to their businesses and access education in the community’s only basic school.

Government workers including Teachers and the Nurses stationed at the community’s CHPS compound to provide crucial, reliable and timely healthcare interventions for residents in and around Nyangua also faced difficulties in getting to their duty posts, especially in the rainy seasons when the river is full to its brims with strong moving water.

This exposed travellers and members of the Nyangua community to risks of drowning and several people, including children, have reportedly drowned attempting to cross the river in the high waters.

It also affected school attendance and denied the people access to the community’s CHPS compound sited on the other side of the river.

End to challenges

But with the bridge now, community members have expressed delight at how it has become easy to cross the river. The bridge has become that important amenity, helping them and their children to move across the river to engage in business activities and to go to school even when it rains and the river becomes full.

They are thankful for the structure that now enables them to cross the river with ease to seek healthcare from the community CHPS compound.

They are with hope that the bridge will encourage and enable teachers and Nurses working at the area get to their duty posts on time and frequently.

Community Members grateful for the bridge, thank MP

The completion of the bridge, which has over the years been a topmost priority among the concerns of Nyangua and its leaders, has significantly wiped away the associated challenges and community members are grateful for its construction.

They are particularly happy that the Member of Parliament (MP) for Navrongo Central, Joseph Kofi Adda, has listened to their concerns and has fulfilled his promise to construct it.

Katangayire Nabare Gabriel, the Assemblyman for the area in an interview said the bridge has alleviated the challenges they initially faced crossing the river, adding that movement to both side of the river especially this rainy season has become easy and limitless.

He mentioned the significant addition the bridge has made in their farming activities, saying “the farmers can now cross over to our farms on the other side and our livestock won’t be carried away by the water when also crossing the river”.

While calling on the MP to maintain his commitment to the development of Navrongo, he expressed gratitude to Mr. Adda for actualizing their demand for a bridge and appealed to him to add more developmental projects such as the extension of electricity to the rest of the community.

Mr. Katangayire, recounted the difficult moments he and other community members who own bikes have gone through crossing the river in the past and added that the community has not recorded any case of drowning this rainy season since the bridge was completed and opened for use.

He said he was particularly happy at the relief the bridge would give to the sick who go for treatment at the CHPS compound and the school children who have been greatly disadvantaged in the past due to the lack of it.

He appealed to the MP and the authorities that would be in charge of it to ensure that the bridge is periodically maintained and kept in shape.

“Saying this bridge hasn’t brought some relief to us would be ungratefulness on our side. I am a community member and the assemblyman and have been here and know some of the problems that affect Nyangua. The bridge was one of our biggest problems. We, as a community have over the years called on authorities to build one across the river for the community. I have personally made efforts when the past government was in power but we don’t usually hear anything good. So for the MP to come and put up the bridge for us is a big thing. Now, the people are able to cross to the CHPS compound on the other side for health service. School children from this side too are able to go to school at the central part of the community. The community is thankful to him and I will appeal to him to see how best he can bring more development especially extending electricity to some of the suburbs which are not connected to the national grid”.

“I am also appealing to the MP and those who are in charge of the bridge to see to it that the structure is maintained frequently so that it doesn’t break down within some few years. At the moment, the sand on the sides of the bridge is sinking and needs compacting to address it otherwise people may fall there and seriously get injured or even get killed”. He appealed.

Background

Construction of the bridge began in January this year. Our reporter who has been following the progress of work on the major facility earlier reported how work on the MP funded project had commenced earnestly.

Started in 2018, contractors had to stop work due to the rains that set in, disrupting work shortly after construction began.

Although the construction company could have continued work in the rains, they stopped in order not to jeopardize the quality of the bridge.