Earlier, on February 2, local authorities gave written notification to businesses to remove all boats and floating commercial premises due to the pollution caused, but many boat owners have yet complied with the order.
A floating restaurant on West Lake
The businesses are required to move to a planned new business area in Dam Bay, Nhat Tan Ward, Tay Ho District. The new area is equipped with clean water pipes, electricity and parking areas.
However, the businesses have complained that the construction of the new area was yet to be completed and they would have to cancel a lot of tours, leading to them incurring huge losses. Many businesses remained in their old location; so local authorities took the decision to dismantle the restaurant boats.
The move is part of efforts to deal with pollution in West Lake. From October 1 to 3 last year, about 200 tonnes of dead fish were recovered from the lake. Oxygen depletion and high ammonium levels 24 times higher than normal were deemed responsible for the mass fish deaths.
A corner of West Lake where is facing the serious pollution particularly caused by floating restaurants
Cranes used to break up the floating restaurants that have not been moved
