PG Glass Grahamstown say they’re on standby to repair windows broken in last weekend’s explosions in Extension 6.
PG Glass Grahamstown say they’re on standby to repair windows broken in last weekend’s explosions in Extension 6.
“We have not yet been approached about repairing broken windows there,” owner Tim Dold said yesterday.
Extension 6 residents are up in arms after dynamite used during large-scale excavations for a sewerage line disrupted their weekend and damaged their homes and belongings.
Dozens of houses close to the epicentre of Saturday's blast were left cracked.
At some homes, window glass and television screens were reported broken.
When Grocott's Mail visited the area on Tuesday, many residents were away at work or at school, but a few were willing to talk to reporters.
Nomfuneko Njadayi, 67, said a broken window ruined the appearance of her house.
"The house now looks like a bunch of drunkards live here," she said.
According to Njadayi the construction company called on residents to evacuate the area before starting the blasts.
"They came door to door and alerted us and asked us to open all the windows of the houses. They also told us move out of the houses and stay in our back yards for that period."
Mlindeli Nqimfi, 63, said he had reported the damage to the construction company supervisor.
"I am still waiting for him to return and fix my window as he promised."
Nqimfi said animals in the area were terrified by the blasts.
Another resident, Andile Copiso, said, "The blast was so massive that some of our neighbours’ TVs were broken.”
The explosions were so powerful that that they shook a highly specialised earth-moving machine into the trench it was excavating.
Stunned residents returned later to find the earth-mover, worth hundreds of thousands of rands, lying lopsided in the trench outside their houses.
Speaking to Grocott's Mail at the site, contractor Willie Walters said his company was planning to compensate all the people with damaged property as a result of the explosions.
PG Glass Grahamstown said they had heard about the damage to houses in Extension 6, but had received no orders to replace glass there.
"We've got our team on standby, ready to attend to the damage as soon as the contractors give us the go-ahead," he said on Friday 12 September.
