The Lands Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has taken his working visit to the Pra River Basin.

His visit to the large Basin which cover a large expanse of land in the Central, Western, Eastern, and Ashanti regions is part of his efforts to ascertain first hand information on the illegal mining and protecting river bodies nationwide.

Tuesday's aerial (helicopter) tour over the Pra River Basin also allowed him to determine the progress made so far in protecting the country's water bodies and forest cover since 'Operation Halt' was launched last month.

Samuel Abu Jinapor was accompanied by top military officers and officials from the Lands Ministry.

At Anyinam in the Atiwa East District of the Eastern Region, Mr Abu Jinapor appealed to the residents to help the Government to curb the illegal mining menace.

The Lands Minister pleaded with them to form cooperative associations to help obtain the requisite support from the government to boost their businesses.

"You must also plant trees after your mining operations to protect our rivers and increase our forest cover," he said.