Traders beneath the footbridge of the New Kumasi Kejetia Market in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region have appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to clear a heap of refuse around the area where they ply their trade.

The space beneath the footbridge houses huge sacks of solid waste piled up like a mountain, which effuses a pungent smell around the area.

Some traders who ply their trade underneath the bridge who spoke to Class91.3FM’s Ashanti Regional Correspondent Elisha Adarkwah on Wednesday, 23 December 2020, appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to help clear the garbage to avoid an outbreak of disease.

A trader said: “I have lost appetite for food; it stinks. I have not eaten all day. I plead with the KMA to come and clear the rubbish. They should also ensure that they put guards in place at night so that no one can dump refuse there because we can’t tell when they come to dump the refuse here. Or they can also provide refuse containers so the people behind it can dump their refuse inside instead.”

Another said: “Yesterday, they dumped some here, the women had to push it to the other side; it even contained faeces. The KMA should come to our aid. It’s the refuse collectors who have been dumping the refuse here when they collect it from people’s homes.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Afia Konadu, has assured that the garbage will be cleared.