The government’s Flood Mitigation Taskforce has began a staged dredging, desilting, and demolition exercise in Accra as part of measures to minimise the city’s flood vulnerability.
Stan Xoese Dogbe, Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations), and Kenneth Adjei, Minister for Works, Housing, and Water Resources, are leading the exercise with assistance from Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, Coordinator of the Flood Mitigation Task Force.
The project includes dredging silted drains, dams, and waterways, demolishing buildings blocking drainage channels and waterways, and removing badly built bridges that limit water movement.
Brigadier General Richard Kinny, Commander of the Engineer Brigade, and Major General Annan Glover, Deputy Chief of Staff at Army Headquarters, are also supporting the exercise.
The operation’s initial phase started in New England, behind the Airport Hills and Mayfair Garden Estates, and it eventually spread to the Tesa Dam in East Legon and Oyarifa.
Because encroachment has reduced the natural waterway, the Flood Mitigation Task Force removed buildings constructed along the banks of the Tesa Dam at Boundary Road in East Legon.
The reservoir and its drainage channels were heavily silted as a result of squatters’ careless disposal of plastic waste and other actions, and some developers had built illegal retaining walls and other structures, making the area more susceptible to flooding.
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Osei Amponsah, the commanding commander of the Ghana Armed Forces’ 48 Engineer Regiment, spoke to the impacted residents before to the start of the demolition exercise.
He urged locals to assist the task force, explaining that the operation’s goals are to repair the canal and lessen flooding. Before the demolition started, residents were given the chance to remove their possessions.
The task group started dredging the Tesa Dam, which acts as a floodwater retention basin, as soon as the unapproved buildings were demolished.
In order to increase the free flow of water and restore the dam’s storage capacity, the exercise entails removing large silt deposits. The goal is to lower the risk of flooding along the Motorway, East Legon, and nearby settlements.
A vital flood retention basin, the Tesa Dam is built to hold stormwater during periods of intense precipitation before releasing it gradually into the drainage system.
Authorities claim that years of encroachment, siltation, and careless trash disposal have drastically decreased its capacity, necessitating the current dredging and demolition effort to restore its flood-control role.
Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, Coordinator of the Flood Mitigation Task Force, stated in an interview that illicit developments have significantly impeded the natural flow of water.
“The problem is that because people have built in this area, the channel has been narrowed. Water is therefore not able to flow freely to the holding area downstream, where it is supposed to be collected. Since the channel is blocked, the area cannot take in enough water. The water backs up, causing the surrounding communities to flood,” he stated.
He noted that in order to prevent future encroachment on the impacted waterways, the activity will go beyond demolition.
“After the demolition, we are going to clear the debris, dredge the area, and create a buffer zone where people will no longer be allowed to build. We will also ask the assemblies to monitor the area so that whenever anyone attempts to encroach on it, immediate action is taken,” he reiterated.
Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, Minister for Works, Housing, and Water Resources, stated that President John Mahama’s order will make desilting drains nationwide an ongoing process.
“The President has directed that this should be an ongoing exercise. So, you are not just seeing us here today, and that will be the end of it. After the demolitions, we will continue dredging throughout the year so that whenever it rains, the water will have enough space to collect. It will be a year-round exercise. The President has directed that we ensure the kind of flooding we recently experienced is not repeated in our communities,” he said.
The Tesa Dam operation comes after the task force conducted comparable enforcement drills in Oyarifa and the vicinity of Mayfair Gardens on Thursday.
A developer in Oyarifa blocked the flow of a natural watercourse by erecting a block of apartments immediately over it.
The stream had been diverted along with another developer, upsetting the natural drainage system and raising the risk of flooding in the area.
In an effort to restore the channel and enhance the free flow of water, the task force removed the obstacles and several improperly positioned structures.
The task group cleared a concrete-reinforced bridge built by developers and locals that had blocked a natural river near the MayFair Estates.
The channel is being dredged to increase its carrying capacity, and further buildings that were discovered to have intruded on the watercourse are anticipated to be destroyed.
According to the authorities, the activity aims to lessen the area’s risk of flooding and restore the natural drainage system.
The goal of the statewide flood mitigation exercise, according to the Flood Mitigation Task Force, is to improve stormwater drainage, restore the integrity of rivers, and stop the floods that recently afflicted a number of villages around the Greater Accra Region from happening again.
Phase two will address the issues in the Laboma region, Mallam, and Weija.
Source: newsthemegh.com