Stolen metal drain covers endanger road users

• Posted on April 19, 2022April 19, 2022
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Metal grids used to cover drains in some parts of Accra have been stolen, posing a danger to both motorists and pedestrians.

The situation has become even more dangerous with the onset of the rains, as pedestrians walking along the streets in flood waters can easily fall into the drains.

Areas where the cover grids have been removed are the Graphic Road, the Rev. Thomas Clegg Methodist School area at Kaneshie, along the Liberia Road, between the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Accra Technical University, Kaneshie Social Welfare, the Kaneshie Bus Stop, among others.

Areas

At some of the areas, especially Kaneshie Social Welfare, residents have taken it upon themselves to put long sticks and other visible items in the open drains to warn motorists and pedestrians of the danger ahead.

Apart from the stolen metal grids, the Daily Graphic team also spotted a few rusty and faulty grids that posed further danger to pedestrians and motorists who used those routes. 

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has described the situation as worrisome and disturbing and called for collective action on the part of Ghanaians to protect the grids from being vandalised.

Residents

Two residents around the Thomas Clegg Methodist area said the metal grids in the middle of the road had been stolen, thereby posing a threat to residents and vehicles that plied the area.

The situation, they said, was worse during a downpour, as it became very difficult to see holes in the middle of the road when the place was flooded.

“As you can see, the drains have marks all over them, as a result of drivers driving into them, sometimes at night due to poor visibility,” a trader at the area, who identified himself only as Adams, said. 

A fruits seller at Kaneshie Social Welfare, who mentioned his name as Isaac, added that he had to put long branches and sticks into the holes every day to signal motorists of danger.

He said officials, whom he could not identify, had visited the spot to assure them that the drains would be covered but till date that had not been done. 

Around the Aponkye Spot on the Additrom Road at Adabraka, a food vendor, Auntie Maggie, said the metal grids were removed whenever the drains were covered.

She said the open drain near her shop was dangerous to her customers and road users, especially at night and when it rained heavily.

A trader at the Kaneshie Bus Stop, Ebi Wo Wo Fie, indicated that the grid

-Graphic