Mr Kwadwo Atta Apeakorang, an environmental activist, is calling for an urgent intervention by government and other stakeholders to stop the discharge of faecal water and other solid wastes into public drains, describing the practice as criminal and murderous.
He wondered if people who engaged in those practices were being kind to themselves, their neighbours, and humanity in general.
Mr Apeakorang, the President of Save the Nation for Future Leaders, a civil society organisation, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the flow and stagnation of solid waste in drains, apart from being a health risk, was also an environmental threat.
‘Some time ago, between Nungua Barrier and Labadi, there were several water bodies that were a sight to behold as one travelled along the main Accra Tema Beach Road,’ he noted.
‘There were fishes in these water bodies, and this presence of live fishes further helps to keep the waters clean.’
‘Where are they now? Nowhere to be found; killed with faecal sludge,
acid water from the throwing of soap water and bad effluence from homes and some factories.’
Mr Apeakorang said at the bridge on the Kpeshie Lagoon, one would see fishers displaying their catches of tilapia along the road.
‘That is no more, no fish, but rubbish and dirty water in the lagoon. How do you expect the fishes to survive in such soiled and sour water environment?’
He stressed the principle of ‘Only Rain in the Drain’, which ensured a clean environment and prevents diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria.
A dirty water environment also destroyed fishes and prevented their spawning, with further consequences for the nation’s blue economy, he added.
‘Water is life, and your can’s take water out of life. So, those who are discharging their wastewater into the drains must stop.’
He called for more education to create awareness on environmental protection, and the need to enforce the laws, arrest and prosecute recalcitrant citizens who destroyed the environment by discharging faecal water and bad
effluence into the drains, to serve as a deterrent.
When the GNA asked Nai Kwao Ashamuah, a traditional ruler, on his views concerning the practice, he said that must stop immediately.
‘I call on those doing that to be more responsible in their behaviour. Imagine having a good time with friends on a Friday evening, at a spot beside a drain, and they open this thing into drain, the stench alone drives you away and kills your joy.’
‘They had money to build houses, but not a few cedis to construct water closets with septic tanks to take care of their wastewater, rather than opening them into the drains.’
Nai Ashamuah called on households to make use of soak pits to reduce the amount of dirty water into the environment.
‘By utilising a soak pit, you can reduce the amount of contaminated water being released into the environment and help to maintain cleanliness around your property,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency