BIRIM RIVER POLLUTED BY ILLEGAL GOLD MINING (BACK PAGE)

THE Birim River, which provides water for many communities in the Eastern Region, has been heavily polluted by the activities of illegal gold miners, a tour of the area has revealed.
The miners have also caused massive destruction to large tracts of land and wood cover in the Asikam Forest Reserve near Kyebi, by using toxic chemicals such as cyanide and mercury to refine the minerals extracted from the degraded land.
They are said to have migrated from Akwatia where similar acts of environmental degradation were reported, and, over the past three months, diverted the course of the Birim River in the forest to enable them to extract diamond and gold from the river bed.
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, the Okyenhene, and the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, saw the appalling state of the river and forest when they visited the place to have a first-hand observation of the degradation
The Birim River, which takes its source from the Atiwa Forest Range and richly endowed with diamond and gold, is a major source of water for communities in Kyebi, Asamankese, Oda, Kade and many others.
At the time of the visit last Friday, a number of machines being used by the galamsey operators, including an excavator, pumping machines and various extracting equipment, had been left behind with no miners around. Also left open was polluted water in large pits, creating a conducive environment for mosquitoes to breed.
The miners were believed to be working at the time of the visit, but fled into the forest when they sensed the approach of the Okyenhene and his entourage.
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin indicated that attempts by the traditional authorities in the area to halt the activities had proven unsuccessful for the past three months.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to collaborate with the traditional authorities in the area to halt the activities of the small-scale miners to protect the forest reserve and the Birim River from further destruction and pollution.
Reacting, Mr Ofosu Ampofo recalled how 3,000 gallons of water treated by the Ghana Water Company was found to be unwholesome due to pollution triggered by the activities of the illegal miners in the area.
“Since no amount of money can substitute the destructive activities to our forest and the Birim River, I pledge the government’s readiness to join hands with traditional authorities and the security agencies to fight this menace,” Mr Ampofo assured the Okyenhene.
The Country Director of Conservation International, Mr Yaw Osei Owusu, noted that the activities of the galamsey operators would not only destroy the forests and the Birim River but would also make the area inhabitable for other living creatures, as well as make the land unproductive for any future use.