Inhabitants of the North West region might soon find it difficulty travel in or out of the region with the deplorable state of the Bamenda-Babadjou road which has continued to pose serious problem with heavy rains.
Commuters using the said stretch were left stranded for close to seven hours in the night of Friday breaking Saturday 15 May 2021. This follows heavy rains which made several portions of the road which is under construction on a snail pace impassable.
The stranded passengers were only rescued by the timely intervention of the North West Regional Delegate of Public Works who rushed to the scene with a caterpillar to clear the muddy stretch that got hundreds of vehicles stock. "The road will be passable. This caterpillar will stay here and we will ensure that this spot is fixed," Ngwainbi Paul told reporters.
Ghejung Awunti, Commissioner of Economic Development at the North West Regional Council, advised the works delegate to ensure that gutters are constructed to enable runoff doesn’t get to the road and render it impassable.
This comes barely a month when a bridge collapsed at a locality called Ndoji on the same stretch, worsening the situation of hundreds of road users who were travelling in and out of the region.
Passengers spent closed to a day before managing to leave the area.
The situation at the said road has been described by many as a nightmare as they are forced to spend extra transportation on motorbikes to cross the said bad areas.
Passengers with heavy loads are usually left stranded until repair works are done. Business person have cried of heavy losses incurred as a result of the bad roads as many of their perishable items get bad during such long hours spend on the road.
Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi of Public Works has over the years paid lip service to the bad nature of the road. During the Match session of Parliament, he took to the rostrum, blaming insecurity caused by the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions for the delay in the execution of the road while responding to questions posed by Honourables Awutah Philip Atubah and Fru Nestus Manjong.
To recall is the fact that in July 2020, angry lawmakers from the region confronted the Minister to demand answers as to the prolong delay in the construction of the deteriorating stretch. The 18 CPDM MPs expressed the bitterness of the people of the region, stating that the bad nature of the road further aggravates the suffering of the population that has been trapped in in the ongoing socio-political crisis for the past four years.
Djoumessi at the end of the exchange reassured the MPs of necessary steps to be taken to ensure the road works are executed. The 35km stretch is constructed with support from the World Bank and the government.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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