The DCE with the NADMO team at one of the affected schools
TRAGEDY struck the residents of the Atiwa West District of the Eastern Region over the weekend when a gas cylinder exploded during a heavy downpour.
The exploded cylinder razed down a three-bedroom self-contained house sheltering 15 occupants, including nine children. No casualties were recorded.
Isaac Akomaning Asamoah, District Chief Executive of the area, over the weekend visited the affected communities, to assess the extent of damage. He tasked the area NADMO and Works Engineer to restore normalcy so students could return to class.
According to him, the district assembly had awarded a contract for work to be done on the school buildings affected, and he was of the view that the contractor would sooner than later, commence work accordingly.
Mr. Asamoah said that he was confident that the contractor would be able to accomplish the works within two weeks, to enable students to go back to school.
“I’m worried about this and it’s giving me sleepless nights. We hope to get solutions as soon as possible. I will urge the people to have faith in us; remain hopeful and in about two weeks you will hear from us,” he said, pointing out that the students would, in the mean time, run shifts until the classrooms are re-roofed.
Harrison Agyamere Darko, the District Director of NADMO, noted that the incident could be attributed to the absence of windbreaks, as people go about indiscriminately cutting down trees which could serve as windbreaks. He advocated the planting of trees to serve as windbreaks.
Kwamena Gakwe Frank, the headmaster of Tumfa Methodist JHS also expressed worry over the issue, and called for an immediate solution to it. He said that due to the rain, a large part of school property, such as books, computers, television, teaching and learning materials (TLM), etc., had been destroyed. He further pleaded with the authorities (NADMO, Education Office, and the assembly) to act swiftly, and see to the prompt roofing of the classrooms.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Akyem-Kwabeng