The Member of Parliament for the Ashaiman Constituency, Ernest Norgbey, has called on residents to act responsibly and put an end to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into open gutters.

According to the MP, sanitation is a collective responsibility, stressing that filth breeds disease and poses serious public health risks to the community.

Mr Norgbey made the call at the close of a six-day clean-up exercise undertaken in the Ashaiman Municipality, in line with a directive from President John Dramani Mahama aimed at improving environmental cleanliness nationwide.

The final day of the exercise, which took place at the Ashaiman Market, saw a massive desilting of choked gutters, with large volumes of waste removed from the drains.

Speaking to the media after the exercise, the MP expressed concern about the huge quantities of garbage retrieved from the gutters and urged residents to become ambassadors of cleanliness by adopting proper waste disposal practices.

On his part, the Municipal Chief Executive of Ashaiman, Freeman Tsekpo, said the Assembly would intensify public education on sanitation by-laws ahead of their strict enforcement.

Meanwhile, some market women who spoke to our reporter blamed the accumulation of refuse in the gutters on the activities of junky boys and residents living around the market area.