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TEACHERS AND students of Akyem Tumfa Presbyterian Junior High School in the Atiwa District of the Eastern region have not been attending classes for the past one week due to the occupation of the classrooms by armed police personnel who have invaded the town for some weeks now. The police are there at the instance of Step Mining Company Limited which is operating in the area, but have been resisted by the people. The invasion of the classroom has disorganized the classes with some of the pupils resorting to roaming on the street under the pretext of going for extra-classes. The teachers are also livid about the development and have reported the incident to the appropriate authorities for action. The DAILY HERITAGE gathered that the invasion by the armed police personnel is to quell a potential clash between the residents of the community and staff of Step Mining Company Limited. The residents are accusing the mining company of destroying their farmland without due compensation and have, thus, vowed to vandalize the equipment of the company if they failed to settle them. This has created simmering tension in the community and placed the lives of the staff of Step Mining Company in danger. In an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE, a youth activist in the community, Clifford Yaw Asante alleged that the company started operating without prior verification and negotiations with the people, especially, farmers whose farms were going to be affected. He said �you cannot just come here and start destroying our farms without telling anybody anything. We have been farming here for many years and that has been the way we have been taking care of our family.� He warned that they will not sit down and watch the miners destroy what they have worked for many years. �Even if we have to fight with our blood we will do so,� he warned. When confronted, some elders of the community denied any complicity in assisting the mining company to have access to the community to operate without due compensation or consultation with farmers in the community. A management member of the company, K. Asare in an interview however disputed the claims of the people and said the company followed all the regulations governing mining, but the people were not co-operating and said they decided to invite the police to ensure law and order. At the time of filing the story, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Atiwa, Emmanuel Atta Twum was holding a meeting with opinion leaders and affected farmers whose farms were destroyed without any negotiations at his house at Kwarbeng. When the press sought to cover the meeting between the DCE and the affected people, they were told, the media were not welcome and that it was a closed door meeting. As at the time of filing the report, information that trickled in indicated that the police personnel, numbering about fifteen have now agreed to move into a tent near the school to ensure security of the area and pave the way for smooth academic work.