Restaurant still ‘sits’ on drain at Adabraka
One month after the expiration of the deadline for the demolition of an extension of a restaurant in Adabraka which is sitting on a drain, nothing appears to have been done to pull down the structure.
After the June 3, 2015 fire and flood disaster, which claimed the lives of 159 people and necessitated the cleaning of the city and the demolition of unauthorised structures, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) gave an order to the owners of the restaurant to pull down the extended structure.
Cleanup exercise
Prior to the order, the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company in Accra, with support from Papaye Foods Company Limited and Tobinco, organised a cleanup exercise in the Adabraka community to help clear the debris left behind after the flood.
However, apart from the lukewarm attitude that was exhibited by the residents towards the cleanup exercise, the restaurant located opposite the Odorna Clinic was cited by the residents as one of the causes of the numerous instances of flooding in the community.
Residents claim that an extended portion of the restaurant was sitting on the drain or silt making it difficult to remove the filth anytime it got choked.
Indeed the numerous cries from the residents manifested during the cleanup exercise by the companies that sponsored the exercise as it was only possible to remove silt from smaller drains but impossible to clear the big drain because part of the restaurant was sitting on the drain while other parts were covered with concrete slabs.
Ultimatum
Following a publication on the state of the drains in the Daily Graphic of June 15, 2015, which cited the restaurant to have been a hindrance to the free flow of water, the AMA gave an ultimatum on July 19, 2015 to the owners of the restaurant to remove the extended property on the drain.
In response to the order, the owners of the facility removed the roofing sheets and broke some walls of the extended property to give an impression that they were complying with the directive.
However, after the heat of demolition exercises appeared to have died down, the structure remains standing on the waterway with business activity still going on in the restaurant.
When contacted to find out why the facility had not been pulled down, an official at the AMA explained that the order was not for the whole structure to be pulled down but rather for the extended property which was obstructing the flow of water.
Cleaners complain
On a visit to the restaurant site last Wednesday morning to check from the owners how the demolition exercise was going to be carried out, the Daily Graphic saw a group of men clearing the drains that had been choked around the restaurant.
The leader of the group, Mr Kwabena Jonathan, told the Daily Graphic that they had been contracted by the AMA to clear the drains in the area.
However, he said, they could not clear the drains as much as they wanted to as the extension of the restaurant was hindering the progress of work.
He expressed shock that even after an ultimatum had been given by the AMA, the structure had not been demolished saying, “It must be removed as soon as possible.”
“We cannot clear the drain with the structure here. The other drains all come to join this big drain which passes underneath the extension of the restaurant,” he said.
Mr Jonathan said as an immediate measure, the cleaners were to scoop the water which was to flow through the drain with a bucket to allow them to remove the silt that had choked the drain.
He expressed the hope that the AMA would, as a matter of urgency, demolish the structure “before it causes another flood in the area”.
When contacted to find out why the facility had not been pulled down, the Chief Executive Officer of the AMA, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpujie, expressed shock that the facility had not been removed, saying, “We will ensure that the extension is removed immediately.”