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Hawkers in Atimpoku unfazed about dangers along the road

Hawkers at Atimpoku in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region are unfazed about the dangers in selling along the road.

Date Created : 5/30/2023 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Ghanadistricts.com /Afua Yeboah

Cynthia Opoku, a hawker at the Atimpoku lorry station in Asuogyaman though admitting that it is most dangerous to hawk along the road, it gives them their daily bread. ‘This is one of the most dangerous jobs to engage in. You have to convince people, you have to run, you have to be smart and this is what we do every day of our lives. You see it to be easy but, it is not easy as it looks; but that is where they also take their daily bread”, Cynthia explained.

Another Abolo seller by name Seyram also emphasized that, the locations are the perfect place to sell and a major intersection point for travelers. You will find people traveling in both private and commercial vehicles such as students trying to get to their schools, people going to funerals, tourists, people going to their hometowns and so they (traders) put their lives at risk to earn a living.

In an Interview with Ghanadistricts.TV, the District Chief Executive in the Asuogyaman District, Mr. Samuel Kwame Agyekum stated that the Assembly doesn’t have land to move the hawkers even though it is not oblivious to the dangers the hawkers face as a result of their line of work.

“These come in the form of motor accidents, health dangers as a result of emissions from vehicles, excessive standing and running as well as continuous exposure to vagaries of the weather among others. But for now there is nothing the Assembly can do since they also depend on it in generating traffic to their products. Sometimes it is easier to find a place or platform that has your target audience and place your products there, thou is very dangerous for them”, DCE explained.

According to the hawkers, it is rather unfortunate that they work hard but do not make enough returns. A street hawkers’ life is not easy and comfortable but rather full of hardship.

Ghanadistricts TV took that opportunity and appealed to the drivers who use that stretch to reduce speed whenever they get to such areas.