NGHỆ AN — Polluted water has caused mass fish deaths since early this month in the moat around the ancient Vinh Citadel in the central city of Vinh, Nghệ An Province, an environmental official said.

Head of the city’s Natural Resources and Environment Department Nguyễn Huy Hoàng said on Wednesday that after receiving reports about the dead fish, local authorities’ examinations found waste water from local residents’ daily activities being discharged into the moat.

The waste water should have been collected and transferred to Hưng Hoà Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Since early this year, the dry season has made the moat water stagnant, resulting in a shortage of oxygen that kills fish, according to Hoàng.

Relevant agencies are also investigating to see if there are any production units releasing untreated waste water into the moat.

Since January 9, people living around the moat have reported that a terrible smell was arising from the many dead fish.

Nguyễn Văn Thanh, 64 years old, of Cửa Nam Ward, Vinh City said the moat had been polluted for years but this incident was the worst one yet.

“I have never seen so many dead fish in the moat before,” Thanh told Tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper.

On January 11, workers started collecting the fish.

In 2016, the north-central city of Vinh approved upgrades to the moat at a cost of VNĐ111 billion (US$5 million).

The task required moving 100 households, dredging the old moat, building a wall along the bank and installing a drainage system and two new moats inside and outside the 6,475ha citadel.

The citadel was built in the shape of a turtle in 1804 using a traditional eastern design. It was surrounded by a large moat eight metres wide. — VNS