Danger Looms For Marketers, Technicians Operating Under High Voltage Cables In Ilorin
DANGER S maybe loomin gina market and some workshops cited and operating under the high tension cables in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
The Guardian checks showed that some marketers at Kulende Market, Sango Ilorin operate under the dangerous electric cables. These include; sellers of meat, pepper, vegetable, ‘ ponmon’ and operators of grinding machines.
Many of the marketers in separate interviews with The Guardian in Ilorin expressed their ignorance on the inherent dangers of their actions. Besides, some of them simply resigned to fate nothing that destinies alone would determine their safety. In the same veins, roadsides’ technicians and car wash operators lining the long stretched Fate Dual Carriage Road, operate under the high voltage cable without any hindrance.
Recall that the government of the state under the leadership of the then Governor, Abdulfatah Funsho Ahmed had proposed a village for all the relevant technicians in the state. But many opposing views were raised against the alleged workability or otherwise of the proposition, thus putting it in abeyance. High Tension Cables or High Voltage cable is used for electric power transmission at high voltage. It is a cable that induces a conductor and insulation and is suitable for being run underground or underwater. But in Nigeria, it is commonly hanged on dedicated electric poles. It had in the past in some locations fell off such poles resulting in high
human casualties. Besides, while there is no conclusive evidence that exposure from power lines causes harm to human health, some studies suggest that longterm exposure to it may increase the risk of certain health problems, such as cancer, leukemia, and other diseases.
Speaking on the development, one of the spokespersons for Ibadan Electricity Development Company ( IBEDC), Mrs Falilat Adebayo Lawal warned such persons to vacate the locations under the cables noting that electrical accidents are usually without prior warning with devastating consequences.