Floods Cause Havoc in Adaklu

By Alberto Mario Noretti, Adaklu-Kpodzi

THE Tordze has flooded its banks again, claiming vast farmlands in the Adaklu District and bringing economic activities to a standstill.

The plundering river on Wednesday submerged the bridge linking the district capital, Waya to Kpodzi, preventing workers at Kpodzi from turning up for duty at Waya.

As a result, the premises of the district assembly and various departments were desolate during the latter part of last week.

The floods follow heavy rains along the upper course of the river earlier in the week.

When the Ghanaian Times accompanied the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Donkor Kadey to the flood scenes on Friday, the deluge had begun subsiding with some famers going to the field to assess the damage caused to their crops.

Worse still, it emerged that the Waya-Kpodzi Bridge which was constructed in 1956 was shattering slowly from beneath, as a result of the fluvial force.

"The bridge has to be re-reconstructed immediately, before floods collapse it and cut the district off the rest of the region", said Mr Kadey.

The DCE said that the Waya-Kpodzi road, on which the bridge was built, extended to the Akatsi areas as well, and that made it a vital economic route for Adaklu.

For that matter, he maintained that it was important for the central government to step in as soon as possible to rebuild the bridge and construct the road as well.

According to him, the disastrous floods from Tordze had become an annual occurrence with more damage to the district's roads and bridges every season.

For instance, Mr Donkor said, the bridge linking Waya and Anfoe and the road between the two towns also suffers severe damage every rainy season.

Subsequent to the flooding condition, workers who commute from Anfoe to Waya, which is less than a mile away, often detoured through Akwetey in the Agotime-Ziope District and then to Ho before entering the Adaklu District again via Tsriefe before proceeding to the district capital, covering a distance of about 20 miles.

Those from Kpodzi would now have to travel to Akatsi and then through Agotime Ziope District and then Ho before entering Adaklu again.

The DCE said that the Tsriefe-Torda-Keyime, and the Kodzobi-Have-Dzakpo roads as well as the road from Akwetey to the Adaklu District needed urgent attention to facilitate the development agenda of the assembly.

On a brighter side, the DCE announced that the assembly had taken delivery of 348 more street lights from the Ministry of Energy for installation at vantage points in the various communities.

He stated that the assembly already received 200 street lights from the ministry in February, this year.

The streets lights would also help in the prevention of crime in the 91 communities of the district, Mr Kadey added.

Meanwhile, he gave the assurance that efforts were underway to connect the communities of Seva, Helekpe-Kpetoe, Dorkpo, Kpordoave and Amedzivie to the national grid as soon as possible.

The DCE re-affirmed the assembly's firm stance to transform the economically-deprived district to a viable one by delivering people centred services with dedication and a sense of urgency.

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