By Tabora Bojang
A man, riding a bicycle fell and drowned in a flooded drench in Banjul over the weekend following torrential rains, which also displaced several residents, the City Council authorities confirmed yesterday.
The deceased, commonly known as Sibo, is believed to be a Senegalese businessman residing in Banjul.
His corpse was taken to Touba (Senegal) yesterday morning where he is expected to be buried.
Confirming this to journalists at press conference yesterday, the Mayor of Banjul Rohey Malick Lowe described the incident as an unfortunate tragedy which rang an alarm bell for an impending health and humanitarian crisis in the city.
She said the incident showed there is an urgent need for a swift intervention including the closing of all drainages by the contractor of the ongoing Banjul roads project. “The debris from the work site has cloaked the waterways making evacuation of water difficult,” she observed.
Mayor Lowe also called for a survey to be conducted on Tobacco and Box Bar roads to determine the presence of crocodiles which pose a threat to the residents.
She recommended the evacuation of excess water in some homes and urged the quick procurement of sanitary materials based on the earmarked funds within the Banjul rehabilitation project.
