Vea (U/E), Aug 28, GNA – Commuters plying the Vea-Gowrie road at the Vea Dam in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region are stranded as the main linking road has been cut off by flood water.
The flood, caused by the recent torrential rainfall made it difficult for travelers using the main road Vea-Gowrie to cross to neither side of the communities.
The road is a link between the bank of the dam and the spillway and as result communities such as Zorko, Nyariga, Lungu, Balungu, Namoo, Sambolgo, Gambrongo, Vea among others have been cut off from accessing Gowrie, Zaare, Bolgatanga-Soe, Bolgatanga, the regional capital through the road.
Government workers and traders who used the road for daily activities have been left stranded and people who wanted to access education and health care services had been cut off.
Residents attributed the severity of the issue to lack of rehabilitation works on the Vea Dam, which made the dam to reduce in volume and could no longer contain the volumes of water caused by the torrential rainfall.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the area, it was observed that several hectares of farmlands were destroyed by floods.
Travelers who wanted to cross the water were seen being carried by canoes with their motorbikes and bicycles while others had to use the Bongo-Balungu or Zorko-Nyariga-Zaare roads to access Gowrie or Bolgatanga which was very long.
Madam Esther Adila, a resident who was carried across with her motorbike by a canoe said, the situation posed danger to lives especially pregnant women seeking healthcare.
She said school children, teachers and health workers were prevented from accessing their various institutions through the road that was having a toll on their lives.
Mr Fuseni Alemiya, a canoe operator at the area noted that, the situation existed for many years dating back to 2007, but it was worse in recent years due to continuous neglect by authorities to rehabilitate the dam to volumes of water that come into it.
Mr Alemiya who said his rice and sweet potato farms have been destroyed by the flood noted that perennial destruction of several hectares of farmlands annually has always been recorded.
He said using the canoe to carry people was also risky as canoes have also collapsed on number of occasions trying to carry people across the water.
Mr Alemiya who is the leader of the canoe operators at the Vea Dam said “if you are alone we charge GH₵2.00 while we charge GH₵3.00 and GH₵7.00 on people who have bicycles or motorbikes respectively and so if you get to this place and you do not have money, you will have to return”
Mr Abraham Nyaaba said successive governments promised to rehabilitate the dam to enhance dry season irrigation but had failed.
He said although appeals had fallen on death ears, he was still urging government to desilt the Vea Dam to contain the volumes of come into it and construct an overhead bridge over the road.
GNA