Residents mount roadblocks to protest deplorable Sokoban road
“When it rains, people hardly come to buy stuff here because of the muddy nature of the road,” a frustrated mini-market attendant fumed. “You can sit in the shop for hours without anyone coming to buy anything.”
The deplorable state of roads in the Sokoban-Ampabame road in the Ashanti Region has angered residents to hit the streets Monday morning.
The action, according to residents, is to draw government’s attention to fix the road after series of unfulfilled promises.
The road links Kumasi to Trede and other regions – Central and Western.
The muddy and slippery nature of the road makes it difficult for motorists to use it when it rains.
Economic activities in the area are badly affected.
“When it rains, people hardly come to buy stuff here because of the muddy nature of the road,” a frustrated mini-market attendant fumed. “You can sit in the shop for hours without anyone coming to buy anything.”
A taxi driver also noted: “We have to frequent the mechanic shops due to the poor state of the road. We end up using all our sales to fix a broken part of our vehicle.”
The 15-kilometre stretch, which starts from Daban to Trede, has seen more than 14 kilometres tarred, leaving the Sokoban-Timpon-Petuda portion, which is less than a kilometre.
Contractors initially said they could not work on that portion of the road because the construction will affect the shrine of the town.
But Chief of Petuda Nana Kusi Oboadom refuted such claim.
“It is not true we resisted the construction of the road because it will lead to the relocation of our shrine. If government is ready to fix the road, it should come and do it to bring us relief.”
Residents say they will continue to stage such protests to demand the fixing of their roads.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana