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Residents of New Bakanta in the Ellembelle District, Western Region, have appealed to regulatory bodies in the petroleum industry to take pragmatic steps to halt the siting of a gas filling station in the area.
According to the Youth Chairman at Old and New Bakanta, Tony Tillatti situating the filling station close to a water body that serves as a source of food and drinking water to some members of the community is likely to pose danger to lives and properties in the event of any contingency.
“We don’t want the project here to continue because there is a river called river Ebi and it meets the bigger river which is Manzuri. We do fish in it…This is where we eat from, so should they work here, their emissions could wash into the water and pollute it; they will destroy the fish and our health will be at risk because some do fetch from the river to drink” he said.
“Construction of the Gas station here would not help us, because I use fire here. I am a gas welder and I use electricity too. We have been here for the past 35 years and we have worked here for long period. So the authorities should help us to bring a halt to this project”, said another resident of the area.
The Chief of New Bakanta, Nana Aka Nwoza III, adding his voice to it said letters have been despatched to regulatory bodies in the petroleum sector such as the Chief Executive Officer of National Petroleum Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ellembelle District Chief Executive, Ghana Highway Authority, the Western Regional Minister and the Ghana National Fire Service, but were yet to see any decisive action on their petition.
The chief added that the land has been reserved for human settlement with artisans scattered around, and the River Ebi too serves as a source of drinking water and also enters the sea.
According to him, many residents cook on open fires hence risky to all.
The traditional ruler said the filling station is closer to the River Ebi and wetlands which put, the River Ebi and wetlands at risk of contamination from effluent discharge destroying flora and fauna in and around it thereby affecting the livelihood of people in the community.
The owner of the filling station Alhaji Sofianu in an interview however said, their activities will in no way affect the community negatively. According to him, he has all the documents which permit him to establish the business there.
“We have the EPA permit. They came here to measure the distance of the site from the river to certify that we could go on with the work. And the people living around were also interviewed and they made it clear that our activities would not affect them.”
They instructed us that if we are going to sell anything over there, then we need to construct a 1.5 metre wall before we engage in the activity. So as we speak, we have the permit of the PPA, likewise the District Assembly’s and the National Fire Service and they are all active,” he said.
