FOLLOWING THE increasing activities of galamsey operators (small scale miners) along the Birim river banks at Anyinam and its environs, over thirty-five sachet water producing companies at Nkawkaw have sprung up to service the illegal miners and their collaborators.
Akwasi Ntiri, a driver who spoke to the DAILY HERITAGE said five years ago the companies were only eight. He said his company was supplying water in and around Nkawkaw Township and its environs.
Mr. Ntiri said the people in the area depended on the Birim River and pipe borne water as their sources of water, until the river was polluted by galamsey operators operating in the Birim river banks depriving several communities of potable water.
He claimed that the demand for sachet water shot up drastically because initially when they started supplying he could only supply 1,000 bags of sachet water weekly.
The driver said he now supplies as much as 4,800 bags of sachet water to Anyinam alone, while the other companies also supply their products at villages where the galamsey operators carry their activities.
Maame Amma Dufie, a 72-year-old resident lamented that it is unfortunate that the inhabitants at Anyinam and its environs have no option that to drink sachet water, because the river which was the source of water for their ancestors has been deeply polluted.
�Now, because the water has been saturated with poisonous chemicals through the day to day activities of the small scale miners, we cannot use it for anything household apart from those who use it for washing of vehicles and masonry.�
The old woman said the river that served them for many years before she was born has been totally condemned by some youth for selfish gains and that all the nearby villages which benefit from the Birim River now depend on sachet water.
�My family and I spend as much as GH�15.00 a week on sachet water; the pipe borne water supplied by Ghana Water Company has ceased flowing about eight months now.�
The woman pleaded with government to come to their aid to restore their livelihood.
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