A nursing mother and her three-month-old baby are stranded following the demolition of their structure by officers of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) at Bawaleshie on Tuesday.
She said together with her husband they would have to pass the night in the rubble since they have nowhere else to go.
According to her, “we were forced to move from our previous place, Kofi Togo yard, where we were residing as squatters to Bawaleshie.”
“We have nowhere to sleep. We do not even have money so I would sleep by my baby this night,” she told Joy News’ Samuel Kojo Brace who reported live from the demolition site As quoted by JoyNews.
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On Tuesday, July 12, GRIDCo led a task force to demolish illegal structures sited under some of its high tension lines in the Ayawaso West Wuogon municipality.
The power distribution company also explained that the site was not suitable for human habitation because the high voltage power lines presented a harzard..
Hundreds of the squatters at Bawaleshie rushed to salvage their belongings as bulldozer Gore down wooden structures under the power lines.
Speaking to JoyNews, the squatters said they were not given notice of the exercise.
However, GRIDCo, in a statement explained that its ongoing demolition exercise was to get rid of encroachers occupying its right of way.
GRIDCo said the activities of encroachers “posed a threat to its transmission towers and a danger to the lives of encroachers.”
According to the company, in October 2021, in partnership with identified district assemblies and the media, GRIDCo undertook a nationwide right of way sensitisation exercise to educate encroachers about the risk associated with their activities along the company’s right of way.
GRIDCo noted that during the sensitisation exercise, it urged compliance with timelines provided in media publications to prevent any inconveniences.
“Under the Transmission Line Protection Regulations, 1967 (LI 542) as amended by Regulation No. LI 1737 of 2004, it is an offence for persons or institutions to conduct any form of activity in relation to the lands around the location of power transmission lines and towers in Ghana,” portions of the statement from GRIDCo said.
Many others are stranded after the demolition exercise and have appealed for support from the government.
