The Volta River Authority (VRA) has undertaken an exercise to remove all illegal connections at the Techiman Market in the Brong Ahafo Region on Monday.
The VRA, who undertook the exercise in collaboration with the Techiman Branch of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), succeeded in disconnecting over 50 stores, which were found to have been illegally connected to the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) power lines, from the national grid.
[contextly_sidebar id=”VhDljC1g0yWsw7m4KVNDeuT3o3xMpAed”]Citi News‘ Brong Ahafo regional correspondent Kwadwo Brefo reported that the decision to undertake the operation was made after an audit of the market’s fire safety conditions by the Fire Service.
The findings of the audit revealed that the illegal connections in the market’s power grid posed a significant safety hazard to the lives and properties of the occupants of the market.
The maintenance supervisor of the VRA at the Techiman substation, Mr. Edward Hanson confirmed the exercise to Citi News and commended the actions of the members of the Fire Service in the area who raised the alarm about the potential dangers at the market.
He told disgruntled affected traders that the exercise was extremely essential and one that the traders needed to understand was for their own good.
The operation comes on the back of the death of one person who was electrocuted by exposed wires and the destruction of property worth thousands of cedis in the fire at Kokompe Market last Saturday.
There have been several suggestions, although unconfirmed, that illegal electrical connections may have been the cause of several other market fires across the country in 2014.
Mr. Hanson however did not confirm whether the traders who were responsible for the illegal connections would be prosecuted, adding that a decision would be taken after consultations with the GNFS.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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