Residents of the neighborhood o da Unidade "F", in Matola City, accuse the Matola City Council of encouraging the construction of a gas station in a residential area, where the tanks are 10 meters away from the houses.
According to our source, who quotes residents of that area on condition of anonymity, the said works started last year and were carried out between 5 pm and 10 pm.
This is a future vehicle refueling point, supposedly belonging to businessmen who exert some kind of influence over the Municipality of Matola, located at the corner of Avenida 05 de Fevereiro and Rua da Mesquita, in the neighborhood of Unit "F" (Matola 700).
"To the astonishment of many, the process of demolishing the existing infrastructure in plot n˚01 and clearing the site for pumps has begun, without the supposed owner and or representative showing their faces, both to the block chief as well as to the residents, their officials having fixed the sign with building permit n 187/UO/2021," the source wrote.
As soon as the construction work is underway, the residences began to have cracks in almost all of their structures, the floor, the walls and the ceilings. "it was possible to hear a bang without being able to identify the starting point".
The plaintiffs allege that they will now be exposed to a greater risk of explosions - as the fuel tanks are 10 meters away from houses - and to toxic gases from the tanks' respirators.
The residents say there have been violations of fuel handling procedures, and they also believe there are limitations on handling electronic devices that emit electromagnetic rays.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Directorate of Public Works of that part of the country, through an exposition addressed to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, dated October 28, 2021, impugned the construction of the said gas station.
The Provincial Directorate of Public Works demanded that the Municipality of Matola confirm the construction permit, while the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Provincial Delegation of the National Roads Administration (ANE) required that the institutions confirm the consent opinion for the construction of the gas station at the site.
To the Inspection of Public Works (IOP-Provincial Delegation), the Provincial Directorate of Public Works requested assistance in resolving the conflict.
The Matola City Council did not speak to the press about the case.
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