By Nana Kwame Essel
Twifo Praso (C/R), June 12, GNA- Palm oil manufacturers and residents in fishing communities in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District, are urging government intervention against ongoing illegal mining (galamsey) activities on the Pra River.
While they believed that the Pra River offered spiritual protection, its physical state had become too polluted and must be saved from further destruction.
Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Twifo Praso, Madam Afia Nyankowah, a farmer, and Mr Joseph Yeboah, palm oil manufacturer, narrated how the river was once integral to farming and production activities.
However, they indicated that, the advent of illegal mining had severely polluted the water, disrupting their livelihoods.
Madam Sarbina Essien, another palm oil manufacturer, lamented the damage caused by these activities, saying they could no longer depend on the river for their daily operations.
She called on the government to dismantle the equipment used in illegal mining and drive galamseyers away from the river.
Mr Isaac Yawson, the District Chief Executive for Twifo Atti Morkwa, reacting, told the GNA that many illegal miners had been removed under his administration.
He highlighted efforts to transition those miners into small-scale mining operations to regulate their activities to ensure improvement in the current state of the river.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Benjamin Mensah