Police fire tear gas and stun grenades at protesters from the Quarry Road informal settlement. Photo: Twitter/@orrin417
Police had to fire stun grenades and tear gas to disperse protesters blocking the M19 highway in Durban on Thursday.
The protesters were calling for more aid to be sent to them in the aftermath of the devastating floods across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Some of the protesters were carrying small axes and pangas.
The protesters had blocked the highway by dragging a roadside barrier across the tarmac.
According to TimesLIVE, the community that staged the protest were unhappy that they were asked to leave a school they were taking shelter in after the floods had destroyed their homes at the Quarry Road informal settlement.
The protesters allege that the principal of the school asked them to leave after being told b a local councillor to do so.
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KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala on Thursday said the floods has disrupted service delivery, including water supply and electricity, in many parts of the province.
“We are doing everything in our power to return everything to normal [but] some of this will take a bit of time caused by a force of nature that we could not control,” Zikalala said.
The premier added that 341 deaths have been recorded so far from the floods.
He added that 55 people were injured while more than 248 schools have been damaged.
Zikalala said teams are working on fixing damaged roads in an attempt to make areas around KZN accessible.
“Bayhead Road, which is completely closed as it has collapse, is a strategic route for movement of cargo [and] its closure will have a severe impact on economic activities of the province and the country.
“Trucks are unable to access container terminals. M7 is also experiencing some failures so there is currently mop-up work to clear that particular area,” he said.