Charcoal burners put Damongo in darkness

The entire Damongo Town with surrounding villages experienced a total blackout for over 18 hours on 31st March, 2020 following the activities of charcoal burners in the bushes of Damongo.

It took the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Hon. Saeed Jibril Muhazu, the Ghana Police Service command and Engineers from the NEDCO/VRA to move into the bush to ascertain the truth of the cause of the blackout.

At the scene, they found out that a tree cut down by the charcoal burning team fell on the high tension poles, cutting the wires in the process.

The charcoal-burning team defied all odds and chopped the tree into logs and packed them ready to be covered for the burning process.

Luck, however, eluded them when the MCE and the team visited the scene and out of anger ordered for the immediate setting ablaze of the packed logs which the Police took charge of in the presence of everybody.

The lights in Damongo went off as early as 8:00 am and the town and its environs were in darkness till deep in the night.

Charcoal burning despite several bans by the Overlord of the Gonja Traditional area, Yagbonwura Tutumba Boresa (I) and the West Gonja Municipality is still a big issue with many valuable trees being cut down on daily basis.