A three-day fumigation exercise was yesterday started at the Agbogbloshie market in Accra to get rid of harmful insects and pests, as part of efforts to secure the land for development.
The exercise is the second phase of the clean-up of the area, following the relocation of traders, mostly onion, and scrap dealers to a new site at Adjen Kotoku in the Ga West Municipality.
It is being done by the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council and Tebel Ghana Limited, a specialist in waste management, which formed part of Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey’s “Let’s Make Accra Work” initiative.
The fumigation commenced around 8:00 a.m. with a team from Tebel Ghana Limited desilting gutters and cleaning up the 80 acres land.
About 20 thermal fogging machines including 150 mist blowers were used to spray the area while about three garbage trucks were used to collect the garbage.
A team of security personnel were also present to man the area and ensure the exercise was devoid of any mishaps.
Addressing the media after the exercise, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) `of Tebel Ghana Limited, Edem Makumator said the exercise followed a call by the Regional Minister to fumigate the land from filth, pests, insects and rodents that had engulfed the property, and had affected neighbouring business establishments and households located within the enclave.
According to her, they were not only concerned about sanitising the land but the health and lives of the citizenry.
“We were contracted by the Regional Minister to embark on this exercise to ensure that the land is free from rodents and pests to ensure good hygienic conditions in the area,” she added.
Ms Makumator said about 200 spraying gangs were deployed for the exercise, adding the exercise had come at a time the country was putting in place concerted efforts to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has been declared a global pandemic.
She therefore urged the public to be circumspect and ensured they observed the COVID-19 safety protocol.
She also charged residents in the area to stop defecating in the open and throwing refuse on the land since such behaviour attracted houseflies and filth which were key transmitters of the bacteria that caused cholera.
President Nana Akufo-Addo last month cut sod for the beginning of Agenda 111, allocating several acres of the reclaimed Agbogbloshie land for the construction of the Ablekuma Central District Hospital.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
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