Nsawam (Eastern Region) 15 March '99

The Ghana Railway Corporation (GCR) in conjunction with the Concerned Citizens Association of Ghana (CCAG) on Saturday, mobilised about 60 people from Accra and Nsawam to clear the waste dumped on a portion along the Accra-Nsawam railway line by the corporation about four weeks ago.

The discovery of the waste heaps at Atuquaye, a village near the banks of River Densu, by the Akwapim South District Assembly Sanitation Task Force on February 17 this year sparked off a controversy between the two bodies. The assembly with the support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered the corporation to get the waste removed before March 15 or face legal action.

The Corporation started the exercise with scrapping and burying the smouldering refuse. Mr Kwadwo Gyang-Taah, Accra Area Manager of GCR, said he, regretted that their intention to check erosion along portions of the railway line, using the waste, "had unfortunately led to the accusation that we were going to pollute the Densu River, which to us is far way from the line".

The Corporation had been dumping similar waste for the same purpose along the Kotuku-Achiase Central Railway line over the years and recently it was decided that some should be used in the area in question. Mr Joseph Nana Aidoo,National Chairman of CCAG said, though, the association knew that the GCR was the cause of the problem, they were compelled to get involved to avert the possible pollution of the Densu. He called on the district assembly to give similar attention to the waste engulfing Nsawam and the pollution of the Densu