LAST Sunday’s tragic accident involving a 27-year-old female singer at the Dzorwulu Railway Crossing in Accra was a sad and painful event that cut the hearts of many Ghanaians.
For one reason, in these modern times that sort of accident should not be happening in our country. Indeed, a lot of motor accidents occurring on our highways and urban and city centres should not be happening.
But because the required safety measures are not in place, in addition to the absence of restrictions that should debar people from gaining access to danger zones on our streets and bus, lorry and train stations, these otherwise avoidable accidents are becoming a regular feature in our society.
Just take a cursory glance at our train stations and you will find out that they have become abodes for beggars, criminals, hawkers and all manner of people.
In Accra and Kumasi, for instance, people sell, and in some cases cook, very close to the rail lines. At the Accra Railway Station, located in the central business district of the national capital, second-hand cloth dealers, foodstuff sellers and hawkers have virtually taken over the whole place.
The station is, in fact, home to many people after close of official business. Some have even apportioned areas they have a sole right to. Also, a thriving business in mat hiring for spending the night goes on at the station. Something similar happens in Kumasi.
In December 2005, the Ministry of Harbours and Railways gave an ultimatum to the squatters to quit the area in furtherance of the ministry’s decision to demolish unauthorised structures along the country’s rail lines.
The exercise was originally scheduled to have been carried out at the end of November that year but the ministry deferred it to December and preceded it with an intensive educational programme but the people paid no heed to it.
According to the law, any structure along the rails should be at least 100 feet away, but some people have built as close as five feet to the rail lines.
In January 2006, the Ghana Railways Company (GRC) contracted Bremak Ventures, a private company in Accra, to demolish unauthorised structures along the railway line at Kantamanto in Accra because they were very close to the railway station.
And yesterday when the DAILY GRAPHIC went round to Dzorwulu, Dome, Tesano, Achimota and Agbogbloshie, we found out that hundreds of people, without any fear for their lives, continued to use spots along the rail lines as places of habitation and business.
Houses, shops, containers, kiosks, tables and shacks were seen spread too close to the railway lines in Accra, in spite of persistent warnings from officials of the GRC on the dangers to which they are exposing their lives. (See pages 24 and 25 for story.)
Life is too precious to be toyed with in such a reckless manner. Again, the unsanitary conditions created in these areas by the squatters, as well as their blatant disrespect for the laws that debar them from living or carrying out activities so close to the rail line, demand appropriate actions to restore sanity and forestall further loss of life.
Systems and structures that make it impossible for people to get close to the rail lines should be put in place.
For instance, sections of the railway line which pose a danger to life in communities must be fenced off and unauthorised persons given no access whatsoever to such places.
In the more developed societies, structures and systems are always put in place to ensure that restricted areas remain just that.
You cannot enter or exit a parking lot if you have no car to park or drive out. So also can you not go beyond a point at the railway station if you are not travelling. We should make sanity to prevail in all aspects of our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment