Scores of angry residents and traders at Anwiankwanta in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region on Monday protested the siting of a fuel station close to the market in the area.
The residents vowed to resist any attempt to site the facility near the market claiming a number of activities involving the use of fire take place at the said location and a fuel station could put the lives of people who patronise the market at risk.
The traders and residents, clad in red and black attires on Monday morning, poured onto the streets amidst chanting to protest against the erection of the facility.
They held placards with inscriptions; “Prevention is better than cure”, “NADMO, had I known is always at last” and many others.
The protesters have warned that their fears stem from the recent gas and fuel explosions in parts of the country that have claimed a number of lives and left many others injured.
One of the traders said “When the June 3 disaster happened in Accra, we saw the casualties, so we do not want something similar to happen here. We are appealing to the authorities as well as the President to stop the owner from putting up this facility”.
Another trader said the facility is very close to where some of the traders fry and sell ‘Bofloat’ and that siting such there could be a recipe for disaster.
The traders have mentioned one Nana Asante as the person behind the setting up of the facility.
They are appealing to the Bekwai Municipal Assembly, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the owner from continuing the project.
Efforts to get the owner to respond to the claims by the traders have, so far, been unsuccessful.
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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana