NADMO is prepared to deal with Bagre Dam spillage – DG
Mr Eric Nana Agymang-Prempeh, the Director-General (DG) of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) says the Organization is ready to deal with the annual flooding associated with the spillage of the Bagre Dam.
He saaid the annual spillage of the Dam in Burkina Faso was communicated to Ghana, saying “They gave us the information throughout the period, we were aware, the first spillage was done on the 1st of September.
“So we are prepared as a Disaster Management Organization to make sure that we respond to whatever effects that will come during the spillage,” Mr Agymang-Prempeh told journalists when he visited Galaka, a community near Sapeliga in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
The DG was on a day’s visit to the Region to inspect some water bodies and assess the extent of water flow caused by the spillage, and destruction on farm lands in some parts of the Bawku West District.
He said NADMO had activated the ‘Operation Tender Boat 2022.’ “We are camping in Walewale for now to respond to the five Regions of the North and some parts of Oti Region.
“As a Coordinating Agency, we have coordinated all the other Agencies and institutions that help us to do search and rescue, and to respond to various disasters associated with the spillage of the dam,” he added.
Mr Agymang-Prempeh, who was in the company of the Deputy Director of NADMO, Mr Abu Ramadan, said the Ghana Police Marine, the Navy, Ghana Airforce, National Fire Service, and the Ambulance Service were all ready.
He said prior to the tour of the affected areas, officials of NADMO met with the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC), and emphasized the need for continuous sensitization of people who farm and live along the banks of the tributaries of the White Volta River, to relocate to higher grounds.
On relief items, Mr Agymang-Prempeh said the government had never faced any challenges regarding relief items to flood victims anytime there was spillage of the Bagre Dam, “There is no single year from 2017 that we had challenges concerning theBagre Dam spillage.”
Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister and Chairman of REGSEC, said the Council was ready to support NADMO to ensure the water from the Bagre Dam passed through the Region without massive destruction.
He said the construction of additional two bridges over the White Volta at Bazua in the Binduri District had minimised the flooding situation in the Region.
The REGSEC Chair proposed the dredgingof rivers to allow space for more water and said government was committed to the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam intended to check the flooding.
A farmer in the community, Mr Iddrisu Alabila, told the Ghana News Agency that prior information about the spillage was critical for them to prepare and especially inform their children not to go near the water bodies in the community, adding that the spillage was of great concern to them.
He said the floods caused by the spillage usually destroyed farms and carried their animals away, “The water worries us a lot”, he added.
The Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso is annually spilled in August or September, depending on how much water it collects. The water then flows into the White Volta and its tributaries in some parts of the Upper East and North East Regions, causing them to flow over their banks and destroy nearby farms.
Source: GNA