Galamsey: River Ankobra gradually regaining 'quality' few weeks after military intervention
- The Ankobra River which was heavily polluted as a result of illegal mining is beginning to clear up
- This comes a month into the special operation by the military task force mandated to stop all illegal mining activities
- The operation halt exercise has seen hundreds of illegal miners cleared from the Ankobra River and its tributaries
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Few weeks after the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo deployed about 200 men to galamsey areas on the operation halt exercise, there seems to be some improvement.
The Ankobra River in the Western Region which was heavily polluted as a result of illegal mining along its banks is beginning to clear up.
This comes a month into the special operation by the military task force mandated to stop all mining activities within forest reserves and in water bodies.
Source: UGC
The operation halt exercise has seen hundreds of illegal miners cleared from the Ankobra River and its tributaries.
In a report filed by Daily Graphic after its visit to Asanda, one of the towns along the Ankobra River, the team observed that the river, as well as some of its tributaries that had turned muddy due to the mining activities, was beginning to regain its water quality.
The Western Regional General Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL, Francis Agyei Boateng, confirmed that the situation had slightly improved since the intervention.
He said with a sustained fight against illegal mining along the banks and in the river, the situation would improve.
Boateng stressed the need for the exercise to be sustained to ensure that the situation was completely reversed to improve efforts to provide potable water.
“The turbidity of the water is getting better in riverine communities such as Ankobrah, Salmanso, Asanda and the tributary from Nkroful joining the main Ankobrah River. If the exercise is sustained and no one mines within those areas, there is no doubt that the water bodies will regain their quality,” he stated.
Meanwhile, some Chiefs in the Central region are angry about the government's decision to destroy on-site galamsey equipment.
In a report filed by StarrNews, the chiefs have called on the government to stop burning their excavators.
They rather want the government to use the seized excavators to fix the deplorable roads in the region.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
