The Birim River at Anyinam has returned to its polluted and brownish appearance three days after members of the government’s Operation Halt embarked on a decongestion exercise to clear illegal miners.
Government deployed over 100 armed military personnel to various water bodies in its attempts to rid Ghana’s waterbodies of the illegal mining activities, commonly called galamsey.
The military, in collaboration with the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners seized and burned three changfan machines on the banks of the Birim River on October 10.
The Birim River, a critical water source, has suffered extensive pollution due to the illegal activities of miners, prompting swift action by the authorities.
The military-led task force made its first stop at Anyinam, in the Atiwa East District of the Eastern Region, a known hotspot for illegal mining.
Organised Labour’s opposition to the illegal mining activities resulted in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to direct the Minister for Defence to deploy additional military forces to strengthen “Operation Halt.
The task force also destroyed 10 changfans, a pistol, and eight water-pumping machines on the Pra River in the Central Region on Friday, October 11.
Galamsey back on the Birim River 3 days after the military sacked them from the sites. Is the ‘operation halt’ really a false task or what ? #StopGalamseyNow pic.twitter.com/ETJebIi5Jc
— Dr Sneaker Nyame (@SneakerNyame_) October 19, 2024
