The Chief of Digaare in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, Naab Ibrahim Boarebon, has provided a canoe to ease transportation challenges across the White Volta between communities around the Digaare area and neighbouring communities in the North East Region.
The intervention comes as residents prepare for the expected spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, which could further raise water levels and make crossing the river more difficult for communities that depend on the waterway for transportation, farming and trading.
Ayariga Muhammadu, Assembly Member for the Datuko Electoral Area, who presented the canoe on behalf of Naab Ibrahim Boarebon, said the donation was timely because residents have over the years faced difficulties crossing the river, with some incidents resulting in loss of life.
“The Bagre people are calling and making arrangements to spill the dam, and then we, as indigenes and people living around the riverbanks, it has really become difficult for us to move from here to Samre,” he said.
Mr. Muhammudu said the crossing is also important for residents who have family members on the other side of the river and sometimes need to travel across for medical attention or other emergencies. He added that women who travel to Langbisi Market for petty trading and farmers transporting agricultural produce also depend on the river crossing.
According to him, the anticipated increase in water levels could affect farmlands and movement in the area, making the canoe an important means of transportation during the period.
“When the water level is very high, like the way the water level has started rising, you can’t even move. So, this canoe, with the spillage of the dam, will actually help us,” Mr Ayariga said.
A resident of Gubiou in the West Mamprusi District, Inusah Abdul Karim, said the canoe would make it easier for residents to cross the river and transport their goods, particularly during the rainy season.
“Sometimes, when we get funerals, and we want to go and pass the river here, it is difficult for us, and some people have lost their lives there,” he said.
Mr. Karim said farmers would particularly benefit from the canoe because transporting harvested maize and other goods across the river can become difficult when the water level rises.
With the expected rise in water levels, residents are also appealing to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to provide life jackets to reduce the risk of accidents for people using the river.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Simon Ayamdoo
