Environmental Protection Agency expresses worry about sand winning

Mr Felix Addo Okyireh, Eastern Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has expressed worry about the way sand winning is degrading lands in the New Juaben Municipality and the Suhum Kraboa Coaltar District.

He said the EPA would not relent in its efforts to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts are arrested.

Mr Okyireh said this to the GNA after inspecting some of the degraded areas in the Suhum Kraboa Coaltar District adding that task force would be sent to the areas to monitor the activities of the illegal sand winners.

He said sand winning activities had destroyed not just lands but had rendered most of the roads leading to those sites inaccessible, areas he visited included Asiedu, Nyamekrom and Ampedwea.

Mr Okyireh appealed to the Municipal and District assemblies to first check permits from sand winners before allowing them to operate at their areas and appealed to sand winners with permits to always reclaim lands after their work else their permits would not be renewed.

Source: GNA