The Hoima District Environment Committee officials have confiscated distillation equipment that was used in purifying alcohol into potent gin in a wetland

The impounded equipment which include plastic drums, and jerry cans which contained some already distilled gin has been abandoned by distillers who have been polluting a swamp in Bulindi town council, Hoima district.

This was during an operation that has been waged by the Hoima deputy resident district commissioner Micheal Kyakashari together with a team of environment officers to curb wicked users of wetlands in Bulindi town council.

During this operation, some of the residents have told the team that rich people who call themselves state house agents are the ones at the forefront of encroaching wetlands.

Jocelyn Nyangoma, the Hoima district Environment officer says alcohol distillers are polluting the wetlands while disposing off some of the hot waste from the distilling drums into the wetlands which are dangerous to biodiversity.

Nyangoma believes that the encroachment has been escalated by irregular monitoring which she says is caused by a lack of enough funds to do a lot of monitoring.

The Hoima District Deputy RDC Michael Kyakashari who is also the Hoima District Environment Committee Chairman says culprits are easily released when arrested and has pleaded with the judiciary to sympathize with the committee.

The Hoima district secretary for natural resources James Mulindambura has advised the encroacher to utilize the wetlands well by practising environment-friendly activities like fish farming among others.

He added that the operation is aimed at implementing the presidential directive on the protection of all wetlands. He advised encroachers to stay away from the wetland for the protection of biodiversity.

The committee is however happy with some of the wetlands that the encroachers vacated and are successfully restoring through intense sensitization.

The impounded items and two Bajaj Boxer motorcycles that were found at the crime scene were loaded onto a vehicle at Bulindi police station as exhibits and the hunt for culprits is ongoing.

KATOTO