Angry youth at Kpongunor in the Lower Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region on Wednesday afternoon clashed with Police after the staff of Power Distribution Service(PDS) were once again attacked.
The incident occurred when the PDS staff returned to the community to re-disconnect houses that were disconnected but illegally reconnected by the youth.
The staff were pelted with stones hence fled out of the community and have allegedly taken off power from the entire community.
The Police have fired multiple gunshots in a bid to disperse the charged crowd.
Last Friday(17th May), three people were injured and rushed to the hospital for treatment after there was chaos at Manya Kpongunor over mass disconnection exercise by PDS.
Reports indicate that the Police reinforcement team fired tear gas after they were attacked by the youth.
The clash with the Police started after youth in the community reportedly chased out the staff of PDS who were in the community to carry out mass disconnection exercise though they were accompanied by few armed police personnel.
The agitating youth mounted roadblocks threatening to lynch staff of PDS should they enter any house. There is currently a gridlock on the Kpong -Odumase- Somanya road due to the action of the youth.
PDS is embarking on a mass disconnection exercise with armed Police personnel in Somanya, Odumase Krobo and its environs.
The exercise dubbed “Revenue Mobilization” according to Somanya District Manager of PDS Ing. Edward Ochire, has become necessary due to the failure by many residents to pay their electricity bills since 2017. A situation he said has led to revenue shortfalls of the company.
Hundreds of houses have been disconnected in the ongoing exercise which started May 13, 2019 from Kpong and Nuaso communities.
A feud between residents and workers of ECG now PDS turned bloody in 2017 when angry residents in Somanya attacked it office for overbilling.
Police vehicles were torched and properties destroyed in the violent attacks. Many residents have since refused to pay electricity bills and have threatened to attack PDS staff who attempt disconnecting their homes.
