Unwilling gathering points
Recently, in areas under the main road bridge in Hanoi such as Cau Giay - Lang road or along Nguyen Xien street (under Ring Road 3), road users can easily see dozens of garbage trucks lining up, or piles of waste right next to the roadside. The space under the bridge, which was once expected to be the airy areas of the city, has now turned into giant garbage transfer points, emitting a foul smell and posing a potential risk to traffic safety.
Reflecting to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (Khuong Dinh Ward) could not hide his anger. He said that every time he passes through this area, he has to endure a strong stench, the shabby image losses the beauty of the urban face.
"The congestion of waste not only makes the urban face worse but also gives off a foul smell, seriously affecting daily life. Therefore, it is necessary to soon have a methodical and reasonable gathering point plan," Mr. Hung shared.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Chien, another resident in Khuong Dinh ward, said that this situation has been xayaring widely for about a month now. According to Mr. Chien, the peak hours for garbage collection usually take place from 6pm to 11pm. In the midst of a beautiful road, under a modern bridge, there are open-air "mountains of garbage" which is unacceptable.
A female garbage collector in the Nguyen Xien area explained that this was a mandatory situation, an "extreme" choice. She said that there were other gathering points before, but now they have been leveled to plant trees or build works.
The female worker also shared more about the "dilemma" situation when the gathering points in the residential area were blocked by people. The underpass area has become the only option, although not licensed, to solve the pressure of overnight garbage congestion.
Struggling with management problems
Discussing this issue, a representative of the People's Committee of Khuong Dinh Ward confirmed that they had received the feedback. However, he explained that this is an area with a complex geographical location, an area bordering Khuong Dinh ward and Thanh Liet ward. Khuong Dinh Ward said it had reviewed both the sidewalk and the median strip but "no garbage was detected in the management area".
Meanwhile, in the border area, Thanh Liet Ward People's Committee has put up signs prohibiting dumping garbage with warnings about fines. The signs clearly state a fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 for the act of littering or dumping household waste in the wrong place as prescribed in Decree 45/2022/ND-CP.
Article 6 of the Draft Resolution of the Hanoi People's Council on management and exploitation of urban roads and urban railways - implementation of Clause 5, Article 30 of the Capital Law 2024 allows the temporary use of bridge and elevated road underpasses for public activities such as culture and sports, with conditions to ensure traffic safety, construction structure, security and order and fire prevention and fighting.
