Torma Bum roads and bridges are nothing but mere death traps, locals say. The pot hole infested muddy roads and dilapidated bridges are on the verge of collapsing.
The village has about 51,000 hectares of fertile land for rice production and was previously referred to as one of the bread baskets of the country.
Presently, many believe that the bad roads and bridges will be responsible for a poor yield this year and beyond.
Residents and commuters have expressed dissatisfaction on the terrible condition of the road making it absolutely difficult for them to access goods and services.
The less than 65 miles journey takes nothing less than two days as drivers ply the route in rolls and turns; passengers are loaded in vehicles like sardines with little space to respire.
Owing to the abysmal dilapidation of the roads, there is an incessant alighting of passengers to walk across these bridges and pot holes for fear of their lives and safety of the vehicles.
Almost all of the pot holes are roughly two feet deep and only vehicles with auxiliary gears find it possible to pass through.
Drivers now stop at Madina, a village five miles from Torma Bum which is said to be the last motorable point.
As a result anyone traveling to Torma Bum has no alternative but to hire a motorcycle which is another risky venture.
The Chief of Torma Bum Ngombu Smart speaking to Awoko mentioned that inhabitants have not been able to engage in any business transaction as potential customers are apprehensive of the deplorable condition of the roads. As a result, most of the consumable goods are not transported on time until they go bad. This has made life more difficult as people harvest their goods without making any meaningful profit out of them.
He further stated that with all the proliferation of mobile phone companies in the country Torma Bum cannot boast of any network signal and people go into forests and hilly locations in search of network. ‘’we are being starved of communication facilities, even when it is considered a necessity in modern environment. We find it absolutely difficult to talk to our customers, friends and relatives’’ he lamented
By Ishmael Bayoh and Poindexter Sama