Wassa-Adansi (W/R), March 18, GNA - The people of Adansi, a farming community in the Wassa-Amenfi East District of the Western Region said there was ample evidence that some unscrupulous people in towns and villages upstream used poisonous chemicals in their fishing activities in river Pra. They said sometimes hundreds of dead fishes were found floating on the river, while water from the river become coloured and carry strong scent of chemicals.

The people have therefore appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency and the security agencies to investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book in efforts to check the practice. Nana Nsiah Brintuo, Gyasehene of Adansi told the Ghana News Agency at Adansi on Thursday that, recently 15 people were rushed to the Wassa-Saamang clinic for treatment after drinking contaminated water from the river. He said sometime in 2005, similar incident occurred and more than 20 people had to be rushed to the same clinic for treatment, when they fell sick after drinking water from the river.

Nana Brintuo said the river was the only source of water for the community and appealed to the authorities as a matter of urgency to deal with the situation before the unexpected happened. He appealed to the Government to provide the community with an alternative source of water to safeguard the health of the people. The Gyaasehene also called for the completion of a bailey bridge that was started in 1984 by SAMATEX, a timber firm to span river Pra to enhance economic activities of the people.