Scene at the Adina salt factory
The clash between some irate residents of Adina in the Ketu South municipality of the Volta Region and the workers of Kensington Salt Factory has compelled the management to close down the company.
A visit by DAILY GUIDE to the factory on Friday showed that all the offices had been closed and the staff asked to go home for fear of reprisal attacks by the residents.
The equipment used by the firm in salt mining have also been packed with a score of machines lying idle.
The residents went on rampage at the Kensington Salt Factory on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 over an alleged pollution of their source of potable water by the Indian company.
They also claimed the activities of the company had resulted in low fish catch as well as low salt mining thereby taking away their means of livelihood.
A 22-year-old man, Atsu Nkegbe, was reportedly shot by the police accidentally during the clash. The family of the deceased has since called for justice.
There was still heavy police and security presence at the factory at the time the paper visited.
One of the motorbikes of the factory that was allegedly taken away by the residents had been retrieved.
A worker who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on condition of anonymity disclosed that the management of the firm had taken the decision to send all the workers home in order to protect them from any possible attack.
According to the source, most of the workers were living in fear as they could be attacked at any time “when they are coming to work or when they have closed and are going back to their respective homes.”
It is unclear when work would resume at the salt mining firm, which is a major source of livelihood for a number of youth from the area.
Meanwhile, there was relative calm in the community when DAILY GUIDE visited.
Some casual workers who spoke to the paper complained bitterly about how the incident had affected them.
From Fred Duodu and Gibril Abdul Razak, Adina