Deputy managing director in charge of engineering, Ing Dr Michael Adjei Anyetei has called upon engineers from the Ministry of Works and Housing to fix the Abofu section of the Odaw drain to put a permanent end to the flooding in the area and its attendant damage to property.

He made this call when engineers from the Ghana Railway Company Limited yesterday moved to fix the Abofu section of the Accra-Nsawam rail line following damage to the lines by recent downpours.

Addressing the media at the site of ongoing repair works, Ing Dr Adjei Anyetei explained that the damage to the rail lines had been caused by the failure of the storm drain. He explained that a flaw in the initial works in the construction of the storm drain was the reason for the level of damage now being seen.

He debunked assertions that the damage suffered by the rail lines was down to shoddy work by his outfit, especially as numerous inspections had been done before operations commenced.

According to him, “What you are witnessing today is not because of a weak track. It’s as a result of a failed storm drain.

“If you look at this retaining wall, it’s supposed to guard the water within the channel to flow smoothly. If you look at the other end, we don’t have that there. So the water, when it’s coming with that force, dashes through this area behind the centre pier and then washes the track embankment, laying the track bare. So even if you repair the track and the storm drain is not repaired, it will be a recurring thing. We will have to come and fix it anytime it rains.”

He appealed to the Ministry of Works and Housing to come fix the storm drain to offer a permanent solution to the now perennial problem.

Proffering a cursory solution to the issue of the failed storm drain, he said, “I think that the channel should have been continued a bit further so that the water can properly flow into the sea.”

In lieu of this move by the Works and Housing Ministry, Ing Anyetei said he is outfit will set up a boulder barrier with gibbous sacks around the train tracks to serve as an effective bulwark against the force of the flood, thereby stopping it from travelling along the embankment and eroding the work they’ve done.

Ing Anyetei also served notice to squatters living along the railway that he would eventually return to demolish their structures, as their continued settlement along the rail lines infringe on the laws of the land.

Residents this paper spoke to, however, said that they had nowhere to go to. They also said they had been at their current location for several decades, so driving them out would be an uncaring move. Furthermore, they said that in all their time along the train tracks, “not even a chicken has been killed by the train.”

The repair work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.