Thousands of people in Yen Khanh District in Ninh Binh Province have complained about untreated waste water which they claim local authorities have turned a blind eye to.
People in Phu Hao Village have claimed that Chia Chen Industrial Ltd. which specialises in the production of machine accessories has been discharging untreated waste water into the local environment.
Oily black liquid from the company's discharge pipes runs directly into the river and all the plants around the pipes have died.
A Dan Tri (DTiNews) reporter visited the area on April 27 and was shocked by the bad smell of rotten fish from a river that runs alongside the village. Lots of dead fish were floating in the river, which is only some 50 metres away from the company's discharge pipes. At the mouth of these pipes, oily black liquid runs directly into the river and all the plants around the pipes have died.
According to local people, buffalos and cows have also died after drinking water from this river. They have reported the problems to local authorities but nothing has been done to curb it.
On April 25, around 200 villagers gathered to protest at the company. They wanted the company to stop operations until the local authorities inspect their waste water system.
“Following our protest, the provincial authorities have sent people to come and take waste water samples from the company," a local woman said. "They haven't announced the result yet and we’re very worried.”
Head of Phu Hao Village, Truong Hong Phu, said that since the company came into operation in 2010, the lives of the 1,450 people in the village have been seriously affected by the pollution.
"We really hope that the provincial authorities will soon find out a solution to this problem," Hao said.
At the headquarters of Khanh Phu Commune People's Committee, the chairman, Nguyen Ngoc Lam, refused to talk about the problem with DTiNews reporter.
