Vietnam Hanoi City Plans to Start Rivers Clean-up

The Hanoi People's Committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, plans to invest about VND2 trillion ($104 million) in wastewater treatment plants along the Nhue-Day river. The money will also be used to dredge the riverbeds and upgrade the rivers' dykes over the next five years. The committee also said that it would now be compulsory for new industrial parks in the city to have waste-water treatment facilities, while existing parks must begin treating their waste by the end of this year. Pollution studies are being conducted on the Nhue and Day rivers. Pham Van Khanh, deputy director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said water samples had been taken at 56 out of 104 sluice gates along the rivers.  Inspections have also been tightened. In the first six months of the year, the department fined 27 of 46 industrial firms inspected a total of VND353 million ($18,400) for violating environmental regulations, he said. Earlier this month, the local authorities asked relevant agencies to clean up the banks of the To Lich and Nhue rivers which pass through the districts of Cau Giay, Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh, Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai and Thanh Tri. The rivers have become choked with rubbish. An initial survey showed that nearly 20,000 cu.m of domestic waste had been dumped on a 11,400-meter stretch of the To Lich River. Meanwhile, the banks of the Kim Nguu River are also littered with rubbish. Floodwater from Ha Noi mainly drains into the To Lich, Nhue and Day rivers.