Every day is a torture due to pollution
For people living along the banks of the Nhue River, daily life seems like an endless struggle with pollution. The stench from the dense black river rises all day and night, seeping into every house, meal, sleep.
Ms. Thuyen (Nhi Giang street), a person who has lived here all her life, could not hide her fatigue: "Many times it sucks, sometimes when going to bed, I even have to wear a mask. It was so difficult to breathe, I couldn't bear to give it." She said that this situation is getting worse due to the large population and especially when the black water often gives off a foul smell, concentrating a row of sewers in Thanh Xuan near where she lives. Worried about her current health, she just hopes the state will soon renovate the river to increase her life expectancy.
Sharing the same suffering, Ms. Do Thi Kim Loan said that the stench becomes most terrible on days of changing weather. But the more frightening thing is that the river has dried up and turned into a huge outbreak.
"There are many insect and mosquito reptiles. There are many mosquitoes, especially mosquitoes. Because river water is wastewater, there is no flow, so it becomes a place for mosquitoes to breed," Ms. Loan shared.
Pollution has forced families to keep their doors closed all day. Many people traveling along the road also have to get a nose job because they cannot stand it.
"Going on the road often requires covering the nose and wearing a mask but still not being defeated. This stench is very harmful to health," Ms. Loan added.
Faced with this situation, people said they have absolutely no other remedy than closing and waiting inactively.
Waiting for the wastewater treatment system
Faced with the painful pollution and the calls for help from the people, management agencies have identified the problem and are implementing long-term solutions. However, reviving a river that has been tormented for many years is not an isolated incident.
Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Hong Hieu - Deputy Director of the Department of Water Resources Management said that the fundamental solution lies in waste treatment. "For the Nhue River, Hanoi is currently investing in wastewater collection and treatment systems. When these systems come into operation, the water quality will improve," Mr. Hieu affirmed.
According to Mr. Hieu, when the quality of source water is improved to meet the standards for domestic purposes, it will also improve the quality of water for other purposes such as irrigation in downstream areas. This is a synchronous roadmap, solving the problem from the root of untreated waste discharge sources.
However, while waiting for the projects to be implemented, people still have to continue to live with pollution. They hope for not only macro-level, long-term solutions but also temporary, urgent measures to reduce the burden on daily life.
