Residents of Daboase in the Wassa East District of the Western Region have suspected illegal mining operators of being the cause of pollution of some running taps and water in the area.
According to the residents, students of Daboase Senior High School suffered an outbreak of diarrhoea after drinking the polluted water.
Affected students were rushed to the Ahmadiyya hospital in Daboase where they were treated and discharged.
The Finder learnt that over 100 students of the school were said to have been affected by the sudden outbreak.
Madam Osibi Anita, a resident aggrieved about the sad development, blamed the outbreak on contaminated water resulting from galamsey in search of alluvial gold in the River Pra.
A farmer in the area, Sulley Ganiyu, said the diarrhoea outbreak would serve as a wake-up call to authorities and security operatives to continue to maintain their presence in the area. �In fact, they are always around mining.�
Seth Boston Kudjoe, an eyewitness who was part of the team that helped in conveying some of the students to the hospital, told journalists the situation was initially scary.
It will be recalled that similar mass diarrhoea situation had in the past few years happened to Tarkwa Senior High School, Archbishop Porter Girls Senior High School, among other schools in the region, due to general conclusion that the constant water pollution could be the prime cause.
The Daboase water treatment station, where the incident occurred, draws its source of water for treatment from the River Pra.
Unfortunately, management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have always insisted that their operations were hampered by activities of these illegal miners.
Source: Finder
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