Two women with their babies strapped to their backs, two men and a school boy drowned in the River Pra at Abodom, a community in the Birim North District of the Eastern Region.
The deceased were crossing the river which had overflowed its banks when it swept them away.
The adults among the dead were identified as Yaw Marfo, Kwabena Nyarko, Afia Adubea, Akosua Ataa and Kwesi Bamfo (the school boy). They have all been buried.
Since there is no bridge across the river, pupils in the village and the surrounding communities are unable to go to school because the schools are situated at the other side of the river; and farmers find it extremely difficult to go to their farms.
Currently, the Abodom residents have placed pieces of plywood on rocks in the river to enable them to cross to fetch food from their farms but that is not safe since any person who loses balance while walking on the plywood could fall into the river and get drowned.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Nana Kwadwo Pinamang, Krontihene of Abodom, said the challenge had existed for almost two decades now and every effort to get the District Assembly to help had proven futile.
He disclosed that the only canoe which used to convey pupils in the community to school and back broke into pieces some time ago.
According to the Assemblyman of the area, Martin Owusu Asamoah, the situation was worrying his people and though he raised the issue for discussion at assembly meetings, ‘it yielded no result.’
He appealed to the Birim North District Assembly to come to their aid by constructing at least a footbridge to enable the farmers and the school children to go about their activities safely, adding that ‘if not, famine will not be far from us.’
Afia Adjorlolo, a 32-year-old woman, said women could not cross the river but had to be assisted by the men available at the river bank.
‘It is scary and we have to hire the services of men who can swim to carry our produce across the river for us.’
She also appealed for urgent intervention by way of a construction of a footbridge over the river.
GNA
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