The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyeman Mensah, has ordered the arrest of the owner of an agro chemical warehouse at Atwima Boko, near Kumasi, over an explosion which has resulted in a pungent odour surrounding the metropolis.

Despite the harm he has caused, the proprietor of KUMARK Agro Chemicals, Mr. Richmond Dantey Kumah, was nowhere to be found when the Minister visited the site yesterday, prompting him to order for his arrest.

Available information indicates that the explosion occurred on Saturday, which forced the chemicals to leak, but the management did not do much to contain the situation.

Currently, the leakage is at its peak, and has denied residents in Kumasi and its environments the right to quality air to breath.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, after visiting the site, described the situation as a sad one, wondering how the owner could keep such chemicals without the requisite license.

The Ashanti Regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Officer, Mr. Isaac Osei, who accompanied the Regional Minister, said they were not aware of the existence warehouse, because the Managing Director, Mr. Kumah, did not apply for a license to operate such a warehouse.

According to him, anyone who wants to operate a chemical warehouse must first apply for a obeyed.

According Mr. Osei, the owner of the warehouse had obviously flouted the law, and must be dealt with.

He, however, promised to use all available means to control the bad stench emanating from the exploded chemicals to avoid any human catastrophe.

The spillage of the chemicals, which comprise of various insecticides, pesticides and other agro-chemicals, resulted from an explosion in the warehouse, which broke wall of the warehouse.