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A substantial part of refuse that had piled up at the Korle Gonno Beach in Accra has been cleared. During a visit to the beach last Wednesday, fire had been set to the remaining tonnes of refuse on the shore. The cleaning of the beach followed a Daily Graphic report of June 5, 2014 (World Environment Day) which drew the attention of the city authorities to the deplorable situation at the beach. In the report, the NshoreNa Project, a campaign for cleaner beaches in the country, warned that the insanitary conditions along the Korle Gonno shoreline in Accra could cripple tourism in the area. During the visit, it was realised that while the refuse had largely been cleared, the stench from the Lavender Hill, where volumes of human waste and sewage from the Korle Lagoon are discharged into the sea, remained. Residents said the cleaning was done by Zoomlion employees. Source of insanitary conditions The insanitary conditions at the Korle Gonno Beach are caused by three factors � the discharge of sewage into the sea from the Korle Lagoon; the pile up of plastic garbage rejected by the sea and the discharge of human excreta into the sea from the Lavender Hill. The pile of rubbish increases at the beach particularly in the rainy season as the rubbish thrown into gutters end up in the sea. Once a beautiful beach that drew revellers to it, the Korle Gonno Beach has, for some time now, become a refuse dump. NshoreNa Project Commenting on the success story of the campaign, Mr Kafui Kofi Tsikata, a lead campaigner for the NshoreNa project, said, �Even though the NShoreNa Project is just two months old, I am happy to say that there is already that awakening and NShoreNa is gradually becoming a household name.� He said the project had received encouraging feedback following the campaign, while media reports had also shown that people took environmental sanitation seriously and would want to see a change in the way sanitation along the beaches was handled. Media�s role While commending the media for playing a leading role in the campaign for cleaner beaches in the country, Mr Tsikata urged them to sustain the effort to rid all seashores of filth. He said there was the need to inculcate the attitude of doing things right in the various communities, while law enforcement was strengthened. A resident, Naa Momo Kortey, recalled that the beach used to be a very beautiful place and expressed happiness that it had been cleaned.