HÀ NỘI — Seven months after chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung met residents living near the Nam Sơn rubbish dump in Sóc Sơn District, compensation due to environmental pollution has been successfully distributed.

The city authorities also organised health examinations and set up clean water systems to gradually improve the lives of the residents.

Nguyễn Ngọc Oanh, deputy chairman of the Nam Sơn Commune People’s Committee, said the Nam Sơn rubbish dump was opened for public use in 1999, with the capacity to handle about 1,000 tonne of rubbish per day.

But the population increased rapidly and the amount of rubbish was greater than planned, reaching some 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes of rubbish per day.

However, the local waste treatment plant was not capable of treating such large volumes of rubbish, resulting in water and air pollution affecting the lives of residents in Nam Sơn, Bắc Sơn and Hồng Kỳ communes.

In order to listen to local residents’ opinions and view their petitions, in May this year the chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee, Nguyễn Đức Chung, met with them and discussed the environmental and health care problems.

Local residents proposed to raise financial support for environmental pollution, and set up stations to keep close watch on air and water to limit the effects on residents.

Right after the meeting, chairman Chung asked organisations to develop projects, issue health insurance cards and bring in clean water pipes, along with opening health stations for local residents.

Deputy chairman Oanh said, at present, six projects had been implemented in the areas being affected by the Nam Sơn rubbish dump.

The projects focus on upgrading several roads, canals, waste water treatment systems and clean water. A project of supplying clean water has been completed and has opened for public use.

According to Nguyễn Thị Thuận, a resident in Nam Sơn Commune, earlier, a road near her house was choked by dust and odors, as trucks transporting rubbish ran day and night. Now, a special truck cleans the road every day and the problem is improved. The truck transporting rubbish also do not run during hours when children leave schools to avoid endangering them.

Triệu Tuấn Đức, director of the Nam Sơn Branch of the Hà Nội Urban Environment Company, said that waste water in reservoirs was strictly supervised.

Every month, the company joins with the Sóc Sơn Preventive Medicines Centre to clean the area and spray chemicals to kill harmful insects in the three communes being affected by the Nam Sơn rubbish dump.

Also, the city spent VNĐ7.6 billion to support residents in the three communes.

But, Oanh said, residents living near the rubbish dump were still facing problems.

The city authorities should develop plans to create jobs for residents and increase their income, he said. — VNS