On September 7, Lao Dong Newspaper's reporter recorded that in the Hoa Binh hydroelectric reservoir area, hundreds of blocks of garbage from the upper reaches of the Da River flowed in, forming large patches thickly on the water surface.
In the area of Ba Cap port, Thong Nhat ward, Phu Tho province, plastic waste, plastic bags, bottles, scrap wood, tree branches... floated all over the lake.
At many points, garbage is piled up into large pieces, stuck in floating rafts and fish cages, obstructing waterway traffic and threatening the livelihoods of aquaculture households in the lake area.
Mr. Bui Van Hieu, a cage fish farmer here, expressed his concern: "Gard flows in to cage congestion, causing water to clump, making fish easily suffocate and die en masse. We have to spend many days and hire people to collect garbage, which requires both effort and money, but the efficiency is not high because the amount of garbage is too much".
Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh (residing in Thong Nhat ward) shared: "The situation of waste flowing into the lake occurs all year round, but most of all after floods. Every time garbage comes back, people are extremely miserable. We hope that the government and relevant agencies will have a solution from upstream, if only collected from the lake, it cannot be completely handled."
Talking to PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Pham Van Vuong - Director of Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant said: "Every time the flood comes, a lot of waste flows down from upstream. The unit must regularly mobilize workers and means of collection to ensure the safety of spillways and power generation turbines".
