See massive extent of damage caused by galamsey on River Offin, Bepoh in the Western Region

Media content on the effects and devastation of small-scale illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, may have taken a long vacation but it has not limited the fast destruction these activities are causing to the environment.

In latest exclusive shots taken by Edem Srem, a documentary maker and YouTuber, it shows how badly the land at Bepoh, on the Bogosso-Ayanfuri Highway of the Western Region has been affected.

The bird’s view shots of the community show how the vegetative cover of the land has been completely eroded off, leaving dugouts of brownish-looking water.

The patched land – showing houses, some green vegetation and bare lands used for illegal mining activities, is a pale shadow of what the community used to be, Srem told GhanaWeb.

Also, he has shared some exclusive photos of renewed works on the River Offin by some persons engaged in galamsey.

“Galamseyers constructing new ‘changfans’ to mine on River Offin at Dunkwaw on Offin in the Central Region of Ghana,” one of the photo captions said.

Another photo, also taken on March 9, 2024, had the caption, “On seeing the drone, these young guys mining directly on River Offin at Dunkwa on Offin hide their faces in order not to be identified. In the end, the river is muddied and contaminated with mercury affecting aquatic life and humans who depend on the water.”

The fight against illegal mining, especially in water bodies in the country, has not been entirely successful by the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, even as many sources of natural water in the country get destroyed.

See the photos and a video taken by Edem Srem below:

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Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

AE