Heavy downpour throws up waste from Odaw river, leaves ‘filthy’ spectacle at Nkrumah Interchange

The sanitation condition at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra has worsened after waste from the Odaw river onto the streets.

Tonnes of garbage along the roads in the area affected human and vehicular movements.

Residents in the capital have long complained about garbage in drainage systems, a major contributor to floods, as the Odaw river overflowed its banks and poured out garbage.

The circle interchange was obstructed by waste, posing a significant challenge for motorists to navigate the roads.

This is not the first time the Odaw river has been engulfed with filth.

In 2016, the river was filled with heavy filth and plastic waste, the situation was dire such that government employed the services of Dredge Masters to flush out a mass of waste matter from the Odaw river.

In less than a year, the river was choked with filth and waste again.

The situation of the Odaw river is symptomatic of the insanitary conditions in Accra and has turned the river into a cesspool that produces nothing but diseases and environmental hazards.

Every year, the river becomes a receptacle for volumes of waste and produces unpleasant stench around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

In 2019, the government announced plans to redevelop the Korle Lagoon and Odaw river basin to combat flooding and beautify the area, but the area still contains high levels of silt and debris, posing potential health risks.

At her vetting in March this year, the Sanitation Minister nominee, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, stated that new measures are being rolled out to clean the city and called for a shift in attitude during her vetting.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing has ordered contractors on the Accra resilient and integrated development project to expedite work to reduce flooding risks in the capital during the upcoming rainy season.