New Bakanta(W/R), Feb. 25, GNA – Residents of New Bakanta in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region have appealed to regulatory bodies in the petroleum industry to take pragmatic steps to halt a gas filling station being sited at a residential area and also with proximity to River Ebi.
According to them, the filling station is likely to pose danger to human life and property in the event of any unforeseen contingency.
This was in a statement issued and jointly signed by the Chief of New Bakanta, Nana Ackah Nwozah III and others and copied to Regulatory bodies in the petroleum sector, including 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.
The statement said the land was reserved for human settlement and currently occupied by artisans and closed to River Ebi, which is a source of drinking water.
He said many residents cook on open fires hence the siting posed a risk of fire to the residents.
According to the statement, the filling station was closer to the River Ebi and wetlands, putting them at risk of contamination from effluent discharge, destroying flora and fauna in and around it thereby affecting the livelihood of people in the community.
It said the said site was a disputed area and was currently the subject of ongoing litigation between the people of Bakanta and Ambainu.
The statement appealed to the NPA and other regulatory bodies to act immediately to stop the said development.
GNA