Some angry youth at Sabromum in the Ahafo Ano South East District of the Ashanti Region have allegedly burned down a flatbed truck with registration number GE-6337-19 for transporting an excavator to an illegal mining site in the community.
Information gathered indicates that the residents mounted a barrier on the outskirts of the community and set the vehicle ablaze in the early hours of Monday, January 15, 2024, upon its return from the site.
The driver of the truck, according to the witnesses, escaped unhurt.
According to reports, some of the agitated youth claim they were fed up with the destructive activities of illegal miners in the area, hence the decision to burn down the vehicle.
They added that the illegal miners have destroyed almost all the rivers in the community, making it difficult for the residents to get access to clean portable water for their daily activities
Residents in the community argued that rivers serving as sources of fresh water for residents in the farming community are on the verge of extinction because they had looked on unconcerned.
“The unregulated operation by the miners has polluted the water source, caused deep environmental damage, and pushed farmers away from farmlands, threatening our existence,” a farmer lamented.
