The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), under the instruction of the Ashanti Regional Security Council chaired by Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene, today supervised a demolition exercise at Adum Railways.
The demolition started from the footbridge between Boss FM and Hello FM to the Adum Railway Police Station.
The exercise is part of a security recommendation to create an access route to facilitate easy mobility for emergency service providers in case of any unfortunate developments in the area, such as fires.
On Friday, 20th March 2025, a raging fire destroyed several concrete and container shops at the Adum Railway Market in Kumasi.
It took firefighters and other emergency service providers about five hours to contain the fire and an additional three days to completely douse it.
Firefighters blamed the situation on the lack of an access route, which made it difficult to effectively combat the fire.
To prevent a recurrence of a similar incident, the Regional Security Council, in collaboration with the Kumasi Traditional Council, directed NADMO to create an access route in the portion of the market that was not affected by the fire.
On Saturday morning, KMA, under tight security protection, conducted what they described as a successful demolition exercise in the area to create an access route for vehicles to move freely within the market.
However, traders who were given a six-day eviction notice to relocate their goods from the affected area refused to vacate, compelling NADMO to demolish their structures.
They insisted that the notice was too short and poorly communicated to them.
“Yes, we heard they were going to create an access route here, but the notice they gave us was too short. I only heard about it three days ago, and now they are here to demolish our containers. This is unfair; they didn’t handle it well,”one of the affected traders lamented.
Meanwhile, Richard Kwasi Ofori, a member of the government team managing the aftermath of the disaster, insisted that the traders were given adequate time to relocate their goods.
“It is not true that the notice was short. Look, we are not in normal times. It is very painful to lose your source of livelihood, but at this moment, there is little we can do. We gave them a six-day notice after the Kumasi Traditional Council and the Regional Security Council issued the directive. They should bear with us because this decision was taken in the interest of the traders,” King Zuba explained.
Meanwhile, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong is urging the traders to cooperate with city management in taking appropriate actions to prevent a recurrence of the unfortunate market fire.
He made the appeal today when he visited the fire victims while the demolition exercise was ongoing.
“Just look at the effect of this disaster on your brothers and sisters here. Because there was no access route, the fire could not be controlled on time. If there had been an access route, maybe the firefighters could have extinguished the fire sooner. So please, let’s cooperate with the city authorities to create an access route in the market. I would have been worried if they had not given you prior notice to remove your belongings,” he said, advocating for cooperation.
Source: www.Starrfm.com.gh / Isaac Justice Bediako
