Viet Nam News
5 May 2015
HA NOI (VNS) — Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked the Ha Noi People’s Committee to speed up projects on restoring water flows and reducing pollution in major rivers in the city.
Three river systems in the south and the west of the city – the Day, Tich and Nhue rivers– provide water for irrigation and daily use to more than 4.3 million residents in 20 districts and towns of Ha Noi and neighbouring provinces, including Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2008 had ordered the Ha Noi People’s Committee, the agriculture ministry and relevant agencies to develop projects to tackle the river beds’ pollution and improve their flows for better irrigation.
The order followed unusually heavy rain that began on October 30, 2008, and caused the worst floods in Ha Noi since 1984.
Deputy PM Hai called for drastic measures to speed up the projects after his inspection in mid-April this year.
The inspection found that several sections of the rivers were nearly dry. The pollution and irrigation facilities there were yet to improve. Projects to help restore the rivers’ flows were going slow.
The authorities said the pollution in the River Nhue was being caused by untreated wastewater being discharged from industrial zones and trading villages along the river banks.