Amuru district officials have suspended construction of makeshift structures at Elegu border market following a fire incident on Sunday which left traders counting heavy loses.
The ban will stand for two weeks when traders are expected to ask for permission to building permanent shops instead structures made of bamboo and other materials.
The fire which started at around 3am on Sunday was the seventh fire incident recorded since 2013.
At least 2,600 traders, mostly Ugandans lost merchandise with an estimated value of 350 million shillings.
Debob Ocan, the Town Clerk for Elegu Town Board, said on Tuesday the board had resolved to temporarily halt construction of semi-permanent structures following the latest fire outbreak.
Ocan explained that the board was forced to take the decision because for long traders have been building structures with materials highly susceptible to fire.
One of the local leaders in Elegu, Kassim Akule welcomed the decision saying it will help avert the fire incidents in the future.
Akule explained that over the years, they have been uncontrolled building of semi-permanent structures in Elegu making it prone to fire out breaks.
Emmanuel Katungi, another trader welcomed the ban on construction of semi- permanent structures but decried the 14 day ban saying it is too long considering that some of the traders are sleeping out in the cold after their houses were razed by fire.
Katungi says they should be allowed to build at least some kind of structure in which they can sleep.
According to the physical planning guidelines, one has to submit his building plan to district physical planner for approval before starting to put up a structure.
1 Comment
Opoto ma tuggu!! Wuti ki ryeko weko oryem lumiroko ki ikin wun. Institute licensing ma maro lukaka, Lonyo me border dwong therefore gwok wek obed i kaka. Pe oye luloka onyongo omat chak gin odony. Pi en wun pe i kisoro, malaba etc