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Residents of Maamobi heaved a sigh of relief when the late President, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, cut the sod for the construction of a storm drain in the community in October 2011. The drainage extension, with a total length of 1.2 kilometres, was expected to control flooding in the community, enhance the stability of buildings and minimise financial losses from floods. The drain starts from the south-western part of the Kotoka International Airport and meanders through the Airport City, Kawukudi Junction, Nima, Maamobi, and Asylum SDown and finally ends in the Odaw River. However, since the sod-cutting ceremony, work done on the project so far is less than 50 per cent. This is because the major component of building the drain through the community is at a standstill and is posing danger to the residents. Several attempts by members of the community through demonstrations and press conferences to draw the attention of the authorities to the project have proved futile. In view of the danger posed to their buildings following excavation works, the residents who live along the drain have resorted to dumping refuse behind their dwellings. This is to support their buildings and prevent further erosion or causing the buildings to collapse. Broken bridge As if that was not enough, the only bridge that connected the Kawukudi residents to Nima 411 and Kanda finally gave way during the June 3, 2015 floods that took the lives of 159 Ghanaians and destroyed properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis. Residents now have to walk on some stones that have been arranged in the open drain in order to connect to the nearby communities. The situation becomes worse when it rains, as it becomes a no-go area for both the young and old. Any attempt to walk through the drain on a rainy day is virtually impossible as one risks being carried away by the floodwater. Gutter adventure During a visit to the site last Monday, the Daily Graphic discovered that most of the users of the drain were school children who have to use the drain as an access route to their school which had been situated along the drain. They were seen jumping on the stones placed in the drain which was filled with human excreta, rubbish and stagnant water which made it almost impossible to breathe when passing through the community. Some of the children at the end of their journey through the drain had stains on their clothes, while others had to be carried on the backs of their colleagues in an attempt to get to school. Others, for the fear of the cattle that were also feeding in the drain, had to wait to be carried across by an elderly person or a school teacher in order to get to school. A Primary Four pupil, Ridwan Hussein, who shared his daily ordeal with the Daily Graphic, said he sometimes stepped on human excreta while passing through the drain to school At other times, he said, he slipped and fell in the drain and that meant a day off from school because the stench from his shoes and clothes would be too terrible to bear. "We need help to repair the bridge" Another resident, Mr Salisu Rahaman, said apart from the drain posing danger to the schoolchildren, it l was gradually becoming a dumping ground for refuse. "We can no longer complain when people dump refuse in the drain i because we now need the refuse to 1 support our houses. It's not healthy for us but it's the only option we have," he said. Additionally, he said several calls made to the city authorities to come and complete the drain had fallen on deaf ears and added, "We only hope and pray that someone will hear our plea." Mr Rahaman, however, suggested that as an immediate measure, the broken bridge must be repaired. "The bridge has broken down several times but from our own contributions and that of passers-by, we have been able to rehabilitate it but now it's out of our hands. We need urgent help," he said.