[ 2016-03-31 ]

Tamale in 'coma' as dumsor and water shortage hit the city

Basic but critical utility services in Tamale are
collapsing; a situation that is making life in the
metropolis unbearable for residents.


Residents have in the last two weeks been
experiencing unexplained intermittent power
outages, which they say, sometimes last for 72
hours. This they say, is not affecting just their
lives but their businesses as well.

Again, water has become a scarce commodity in the
regional capital due to some operational
challenges at the Ghana Water Company caused by
the intermittent electricity cuts and technical
hitches at the Dalun treatment plant.

Residents who are unable to afford water tanker
services, the price of which have doubled in the
last two weeks, now have to sacrifice their sleep
at night in search of water. The Datoyili dam has
now been the alternative for some of them.

The water supply situation at Tishigu, Choggu,
Gurugu, Target, Wurishe, SSNIT Flats, Kalpohini
Lowcost and the Tamale campus of the University
for Development Studies is worst as they have not
had water in their taps for the past two weeks.

Washing bays, hotels and laundry services are the
most affected businesses as they are unable to
meet the demand from their clients. A trip of
water which was previously sold between GHC 60 and
GHC70 is now being sold at GHC120 Cedis, which is
the cheapest.

A water tanker driver, Hussein Dawuda, explained
the hikes is due to the unavailability of water in
the region, hence travelled long distance to get
water.

On electricity, the residents told TV3 Online,
there has not been any communication as to why
they keep experiencing frequent electricity cut,
noting the situation is so bad that they sometimes
feel "a toddler is playing with the power
switches"

Responding issue, the Northern Regional Public
Relations Officer of Ghana Water Nii Abbey, said:
"the city is currently undergoing water rationing.
The rationing has become necessary due to the some
technical hitches at the Dalun treatment plant and
the incessant power outages the city is currently
facing."

He said until the electricity supply improves,
residents will have to brace themselves up for
more challenging time as they would have to spend
more to get water from alternative sources.

The Northern Electricity Distribution Company
which is responsible for electricity supply in the
region explained the intermittent power cuts have
been the cause of problems with some underground
cables.

Its Public Relations Manager, Alhassan Ababa,
noted a rainstorm that hit the metropolis on March
22 caused a tower that supplies power to the Dalun
water treatment plant to collapse, something he
said has affected water supply.

He said the tower was however repaired a week
after the incident hence NEDCo cannot be blamed
for the challenges in water supply from that time
onwards.

Source - tv3network.com|

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