Demolition exercise intended to pave the way for the construction of a flyover, has affected many homes in Deido-Douala. The people who patronise the Marché Sandaga-Rond Point stretch in Deido, will certainly be taken aback by its new look. Right into the road from Bonaberi or Akwa, one can see a clear view void of residential structures, but full of rubble.

Though caterpillars and trucks of the Douala City Council and Sogea Satom Company have been on the spot since January 5 pulling down homes, the atmosphere is calm and serene except that some people are busy picking up bits and pieces of roofing sheets, rafters and other material from the debris.

The project intended to enlarge the stretch is part of a larger project for the construction of a flyover and an extension project of the on-going construction of a second bridge over the Wouri River.

The flyover, according to a source in the Regional Delegation of Public Works in Douala, is to ease traffic flow at the Rond Point where another flyover is expected to be constructed, providing easy access for company vehicles around the bridge as well as the general public shuttling between Bonaberi and the rest of the city.

None of the occupants seemed to be complaining because they were adequately sensitised and have learned to accommodate common development concerns in the city. Makolo Benjamin Balise, who has been living in the area since 1983 and whose eight-room house has just been demolished, lauds the on-going development saying, “It is for our good and the good of our children. The city of Douala must advance and thus warrants this facelift.”

He said they were informed in 2013 during a demarcation of the stretch, and was partially compensated in 2014. Though there's still some payment to be made by way of compensation, he trusts the administrative authorities concerned to soon settle them or pay for their investments as promised.