Pe Joseph Banape Afagachie, Paramount Chief of Nakong Traditional Area in Kassena-Nankana District in Upper East Region has stressed the need for municipal and district assemblies in the region to enact stringent by-laws to deal with people who degrade the environment. He cited the indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal, hunting and farming along river basins by the people in the area to degrade the environment. Pe Afagachie made the appeal when Mr Alhassan Samari, Upper East Regional Minister paid a courtesy call on him at his palace at Nakong. He expressed concern about the manner people in the area especially the youth were involved in indiscriminate tree felling without replanting them. Pe Afagachie attributed the siltation in most of the rivers in the area to the rampant farming along river basins by the people and said unless the assemblies enacted stringent by-laws and enforced them strictly to curb the situation; the degradation of the environment would continue to worsen. He appealed to government to provide a police station for Nakong because armed robbers had taken advantage of its geographical location to rob traders and passengers who travel on the Nakong-Tumu road to other areas to transact business. Pe Afagachie commended government for development projects in the area with the construction of schools, hospitals, pavilions for chiefs, introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme. Mr Samari assured the chief and people that he would ensure by-laws were enacted and strictly enforced to curb the indiscriminate degradation of the environment. He said a police station would be constructed at Nakong to curb the crime wave in the area. Source: GNA