HÀ NỘI — Residents living near the Nam Sơn dump, the largest in Hà Nội, have stopped blocking trucks from carrying garbage to the dump in protest against the heavy pollution after local authorities agreed to immediately address the problem.

Pollution in the area is a persistent issue and has threatened the health of locals near Hà Nội’s Sóc Sơn District.

Residents in Nam Sơn Commune’s Đông Hạ Village have reported that in recent days, people here were struggling to deal with the swarms of flies, turning their lives upside down.

Every day, locals were forced to buy several sticky sheets that were covered with a substance to trap the flies and kill them, but were still unable to get rid of the menace, residents said.

Nguyễn Thị Lý, a resident, said they had been living in this polluted environment for many years.

“Since the landfill was set up here, flies have existed, but not as many flies as in recent days,” she said.

“Flies are everywhere, in the house, on the body, on trees. Residents have to keep their doors closed all day, even are forced to eat under a mosquito net,” she added.

Nguyễn Văn Chính, head of Đông Hạ Village, said flies had been present for many years due to the landfill, but recently the problem had gotten worse.

Furious with the increasing number of flies due to pollution from the Nam Sơn landfill, dozens of Đông Hạ villagers on Tuesday set up temporary tents to block roads to prevent trucks carrying garbage to the dump.

In the afternoon on the same day, the locals continued to carry trapped flies on the roads leading to the landfill.

In response to the situation, the chairman of the People’s Committee of Sóc Sơn District, together with the leader of Hồng Kỳ Commune, held a dialogue with residents of the affected areas to resolve the problem and addressed questions by locals.

Đỗ Minh Tuấn, deputy chairman of Sóc Sơn District People’s Committee, said the increasing number of flies in residential areas in the past two days was due to the weather. Prolonged rains led to a foul smelling odour, which in turn led to an increase in flies, affecting the environment and people’s lives.

At the meeting, the two sides reached an agreement to handle the situation. The Hà Nội People’s Committee also approved a project to relocate three seriously affected communes -- Bắc Sơn, Hồng Kỳ and Nam Sơn.

The committee also requested relevant departments to work together to raise health insurance support from 80 per cent to 100 per cent for affected residents.

Periodic health examination for locals would be conducted regularly, authorities said.

The Nam Sơn garbage dump, covering 83.5ha, was set up in 1999. Every day, it receives more than 4,000 tonnes of waste.

The three communes closest to the dump -- Bắc Sơn, Nam Sơn and Hồng Kỳ -- are suffering from severe air and water pollution. — VNS