Renovation work at the Kachikally Crocodile Pool in Bakau came to an end. The face-lift renovation of this sacred pool, which is one of the most attractive sites to the tourists to The Gambia was carried out with the aims of promoting and developing the site to attract more visitors to the pool.

Speaking to Arts and Culture, Dodou Bojang, a traditional custodian of the crocodile pool, expressed profound and sincere gratitude to the youths of Bakau for participating actively in the renovation process. The renovation which was carried-out in the pool involved the complete covering of the most unwanted and stinky water running through the gutters that leads to the women vegetable garden, fencing of the pool vicinity among other works. He described the gesture of the youths, as the manifestation of their commitment to serve humanity. 

According to him, the crocodile pool attracts lot of visitors ranging from tourists, students from all over the country, researchers among others. Mr Bojang revealed that, the crocodile pool is known for its spiritual mystical traditional power.

Still commenting on the renovation work at the pool, Mr Bojang said that the work was long over due.  “We have been wondering and thinking of which measures we should take in order to deal with the bad smell coming from the gutters prior the renovation.  We had received numerous complain from visitors both tourists and others.  The former situation posed a real threat to the development of tourism, considering the nature and role of the crocodile pool to the tourist industry,” he said.

The custodian of the crocodile pool thanked The Gambia Tourism Authority and the National Environment Agency for the technical support accorded to the management of the Kachikally Crocodile Pool. “We hope the new anti-littering Bill will have positive impact on our environment,” he added. The renovation budget amounted to the tune of D200,000.