A public health danger is looming at Sumbrungu and its environs in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region as refuse at the Sumbrungu market has not been cleared in more than seven months.
Refuse of all kinds heaped in the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly branded waste container spreads across the nearby road, attracting rodents and flies.
A visit to the market by the Ghana News Agency saw that the dumping site located in the midst of stores had created an unsanitary atmosphere and a breeding ground for mosquitoes that greet owners of the stores and their customers each morning, exposing the public to health hazards such as malaria, cholera and skin diseases among others.
Some children were seen defecating openly on the waste, making the situation worst.
GNA gathered that due to the inability of the Assembly to regularly collect the waste, traders resorted to burning the refuse at the site and it had heaped up debris which had not been cleared for close to two years.
Residents and traders said they were on a sanitation time bomb and called on the Assembly to collect the waste and properly dispose of it.
As a result of the seepage from the refuse and the burnt debris, water from the borehole serving the market has been made unpotable and yet some traders drink it while others use it to cook food to sell to the general public.
Madam Hannah Akankase, a charcoal seller whose shop borders the refuse site noted that the uncollected waste was creating an unsanitary atmosphere and posing a health danger to their lives.
Madam Margaret Nyaaba, a beautician whose saloon is also near the refuse site noted that several complaints had been lodged with leaders of the community including the Assembly members but nothing had been done about the situation.
When Mr Evans Bornah, the Bolgatanga Municipal Environmental and Sanitation Agency Officer was contacted, he admitted having had knowledge of the situation. He added that for the past six months there was no waste container at the market.
He said the container which was taken away in 2021 got damaged after traders burnt to refuse in it when the Assembly failed to dispose of the waste collected.
He gave the assurance that the waste would soon be collected and properly disposed of to prevent the spread of diseases.
