misery living with a giant landfill
Right in the middle of a crowded residential area in Tu Liem ward (Hanoi), a road that was supposed to be spacious and clean is becoming a nightmare for hundreds of households. That is the area of the project to build a road connecting Do Duc Duc Street to Me Tri Street. Instead of a flat asphalt road, the existing image is a giant, shabby and polluted garbage dump.
According to the reporter's records, along this unfinished road, garbage is piled up in large piles. All kinds of garbage from nylon bags, foam boxes, leftover food, construction waste to cushions, broken old cabinet beds... are thrown away. Many spontaneous signs such as "No Parking Area" and "No Dumping" were erected, but it did not seem to work.
Living and working near this area, Mr. Do Van Chien (Tu Liem ward) could not hide his frustration: "The stench directly affects health. We have to breathe this air every day. During the rainy season, this storm gives off a foul smell, posing a very high risk of epidemics".
Mr. Chien said that this road has been unfinished for many years, people have not seen any further construction, so they have turned it into a garbage dump.
"Our biggest wish is that the government will soon complete the road so that vehicles can travel freely, and the important thing is to have a clean and quyicling garbage collection point for the people" - Mr. Chien shared.
A female cleaning worker said: "We reminded them all the time, but it didn't work. The biggest problem is the lack of a standard gathering point, while each person is aware of a different point. People just left it on the street, we couldn't move it."
The project is suspended to become a landfill
The pollution in this suspended project not only causes loss of urban beauty but also directly threatens the health and reduces the quality of life of people. To clarify the cause and find solutions, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters contacted the leaders of Tu Liem Ward People's Committee.
Talking over the phone, Mr. Le Viet Bac Anh - Vice Chairman of Tu Liem Ward People's Committee - said that the local government has grasped the situation and admitted that the people's concerns are completely justified. According to Mr. Bac Anh, the main reason for the project's prolonged delay is due to " problems in site clearance".
This project is invested by the People's Committee of Nam Tu Liem District (old). Previously, compensation for site clearance was carried out according to the provisions of the old Land Law. However, the new law must now be applied, causing many problems with land prices. Currently, we are in the process of selecting a new price appraisal unit to re-determine the prices of residential land and agricultural land, as a basis for continuing to implement the remaining compensation plans" - Mr. Le Viet Bac Anh explained.
Regarding immediate solutions to handle the waste problem, the Vice Chairman of Tu Liem Ward People's Committee said that the ward has been making efforts to implement many measures.
"We have continuously propagated to residential groups, mobilizing people to raise awareness and not to litter. At the same time, the ward also regularly exchanges and urges the environmental sanitation unit (Urenco) to increase collection and cleaning in this area to ensure hygiene" - Mr. Bac Anh said.
However, he also acknowledged that these measures are only temporary. As long as the project has not been restarted and completed, and the road is still abandoned, the illegal dumping of waste will still be difficult to completely resolve.
