Abundant trash piled up daily in front of Tan Dinh School in Hoang Mai District, Hanoi, has enraged teachers and parents.
Although the trash is removed to other places at night, its stench remains and suffocates the atmosphere around the school.
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| In the evening, trash is piled up in front of the school gate |
According to teachers of the school and parents, for many years, household garbage has been kept in front of the school gate every day before being transported which is a health risk to students.
Nghiem Thi Hanh, principal of Tan Dinh Secondary School said, “Trash has been collected here for a decade. We had complained to functional agencies but they have not given us any feedback. Teachers and students of the school have no choice but to deal with the stench and rubbish.”
According to Hanh, from 5pm to the evening, trash is dumped in front of the school gate until it can be transported away by trash trucks.
Although in the morning there is no more trash, left over trash and the terrible smell remains. Over time, the smell and left over liquid from trash has seeped into the pavement which literally holds the smell.
“The smell is even more unbearable when it is hot and sunny. The atmosphere is so suffocating that many students start coughing when they go past the school gate,” shared Hanh.
Nguyen Thi L, mother of a student said, “I fail to understand why the authority allows trash to be kept at a school like this. The school atmosphere has been affected. However, we are more concerned about the health of our children. Does the city not have any other place where trash can be collected? Why should we let children suffer like this?”
DTiNews reporters were at the school at 6:30pm on October 19. We witnessed a lot of trash dropped in front of the school gate. Waste-water from the trash kept spilling over the road and the smell was unbearable.
We asked Cung Huu Hoa, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tuong Mai Ward about the situation.
Hoa said that Hoang Mai Urban Construction Joint Stock Company took responsibility of collecting and transporting the household garbage of the ward.
After trash had been removed, workers are supposed to clean up the site. It’s their responsibility.
However, Hanh affirmed, “They never clean up the place where trash is collected. Everyday they just load all rubbish into trash trucks then drive away. I waited until late evening many time to see whether or not they clean but they never do.”
Hoa added, “There is no other place in the ward where trash can be collected so we decide to allow them to collect it in front of the school.”
He said that it’s a very convenient place to transport trash. Other places have narrow roads and traffic jams may happen.
“We have complained to the People’s Committee of Hoang Mai District but have not received any feedback or solutions to this issue,” added Hoa.
