[ad_1]
General News on Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2019-01-22
The Sene River is riddled with tree stumps
Traveling or fishing by boat on the Sene River, in the Brong Ahafo area, becomes increasingly risky due to accidents caused by tree stumps.
At least four fatal accidents occur each year on the river, which is the only means of transport to and from each side.
Residents use rickety boats and canoes to fish and travel about 80 kilometers to the other side of the river.
Sene River connects the residents of Akyeremade-Battor and more than 50 communities of Sene West, Kejeji in the districts of Sene East, in the Brong Ahafo region, as well as the Krachi-Nchumuru district in the Volta region.
Officials from the Sene West District Assembly said that about 7,000 people are employed directly or indirectly in fishing.
Each year, more than 250,000 people use the Sene River.
Thousands of tree stumps in the river make fishing and transportation dangerous.
The boat accidents that accompany it have also been alarming lately
Five accidents were recorded on the river in 2018. A number of other tragic incidents have not been reported.
In the latest incident, 23 people, mostly traders, were killed when their boat capsized after hitting a tree stump.
Samuel Hloademe, a fisherman, recounts how he nearly lost his life on the river in 2014.
He witnessed another accident the following year when the four people in a small boat drowned.
"It is God who preceded, otherwise I would have died in the river," he said.
According to him, although traveling on the Sene River in small canoes and boats is dangerous, residents have no other choice.
"We want to call on the government to provide us with machines that we can use on the river for our safety," he said.
Sene East district director John Nyarbah wants the Ministry of Transport and Fisheries to intervene to limit accidents.
"We normally record three [accidents]one year; sometimes four and sometimes fatal … sometimes all the people in the boat die "
He said the situation worsens during the dry season when visibility is poor.
"It's really true that the strains are in [the river] and that causes accidents and many people die as a result of these accidents. Some of the boats that they have[fishermen and transporters] use are the old ones. They are not worthy of being used on the river, "he lamented.
Although the badembly wrote letters to the Department of Fisheries, this has not yet yielded results.
According to Mr. Nyarbah, improving security on the Sene River will not only save lives, but also improve the income of the badembly.
"We have a ferry to Lake Volta, it's East Sene, but it does not come here, so our people need a ferry.
"We will call on the government so that, if we also receive a ferry and those who are fishing also need new equipment, there will be new boats that will help them do their jobs effectively," she said. he declared.
Source link
