Over 5,000 wooden stores and accommodation units at the Konkomba Market at Agblogbloshie in Accra were destroyed by fire on Saturday night.
More than 700 persons, including children, have been rendered homeless, according to the leadership of the market, who were unable to immediately tell the total cost of damage but believed it could run into several thousands of cedis.
According to Mr Faris Abukari, a butcher and the leader of the taskforce at the Konkomba market, the fire started around 10:30 p.m. from what he said was an electrical fault, which he blamed on the bad nature of electrical connections in the area.
An alarm was raised by a young man who saw smoke emanating from the room of a lady who lived on the top floor of one of the wooden structures.
Before those sleeping could wake up to what was happening, Mr Abukari said the fire had started spreading and just within 15 minutes, it had destroyed a good number of the wooden stores and housing units.
�But for the timely arrival of the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service (GNFRS) at 10:45 p.m., the story would have been different,� adding that within two hours, they managed to put out the fire.
At the time the Daily Graphic team got to the scene yesterday, re-construction works on the destroyed units were going on in earnest as people were working in the hot sun to rebuild their homes and stores.
Madam Memuna Hamza, a resident, told the Daily Graphic that her housing unit and belongings, including the school uniforms of her children, had been destroyed by the fire and for which reason her children were unable to attend school yesterday.
She estimated the cost of her property destroyed at GH�50,000 and prayed that the government would offer her some assistance.
Currently, those affected are putting up with friends or family members within the market enclave.
This reporter sought to find out from Faris Abukari, who also claimed to have lost a number of livestock to the fire, what punitive measures had been instituted to deal with persons whose actions brought hardship to others.In response, he said there was no punishment but they would leave the matter in the hands of God.
�We can�t even expel her because she has also been affected by the fire and she is very miserable now. What will happen to her if we sack her from here?� he asked rhetorically.
<<Print>>