Seismologist, Nicholas Opoku has advised residents of New Bortianor to desist from attributing the recent earth tremors to blasting activities carried out by Chinese contractors in the area.
Residents of New Bortianor and surrounding areas say they are living in constant fear due to ‘man-made earthquakes’. Some residents in the area have said that activities of Chinese contractors of Sunda Ghana, which involves blasting of rocks behind the West Hills Mall, results in the shaking of the houses in the community.
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But Nicholas Opoku in an interview with Samuel Eshun said that it would be too hasty to draw such a conclusion.
He advised, “We shouldn’t be too quick to judge that what happened last Saturday is as a result of blasting. Our equipment here have picked the signals, a station at Achimota picked it, another station in Akosombo also picked it. Even the Kumasi station picked it. Based on an analysis of the situation, we need not conclude that it is blasting. It looks more of a natural event. I will request that they allow us to do a proper investigation to observe the situation before they conclude that it is the blasting exercise from the Chinese causing the tremor”.
Chairman of the West Hills City Landlords and Residents Association, Reverend Antwi-Wiredu, has called on the media to create public awareness on activities of Chinese contractors of Sunda Ghana which he says has caused the cracks of buildings and the weakening of walls in areas such as Bortianor, Redtop, WestHills City, Aplaku, Old Barrier and Weija SCC.
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This comes after many residents were forced to move out of their homes for safety, following the “earthquake or tremor” on Saturday, 12th June 2021, which many believed was a result of the blasting of rocks by the construction company.
According to him, residents are in constant fear and panic due to these activities and constant counsel to these contractors to put a stop to the blasting and find alternatives has yielded no results.