Don't treat the lake badly.

TRASH, SMELL...

We comeNorth Canal regulating lakealong the new 35m road connecting National Highway 46 with the Lam River road. Initial impression, probably because it has just been invested in construction, the Kenh Bac regulating lake with full infrastructure of management road, sidewalks, lawns, trees, lighting... will be beautiful, clean and airy.

But that feeling gradually faded away as we walked through the 53-hectare area of ​​the lake. From the end point connecting with Rao Dung Canal to the beginning point connecting with Bac Canal, there was no place in the lake that was not covered with garbage. There was garbage on the surface of the surrounding roads, sidewalks, and lawns. There was garbage on the vacant lots around the 53-hectare area. There was garbage on the 40-hectare surface of the lake.

On the surface of the lake, there is not only trash but also the carcasses of giant animals. Photo: Nhat Lan

As for the variety of garbage, it is difficult to calculate correctly and completely. It is a mixture of construction waste. It is bagasse, fruit peels from night stalls. It is boxes, plastic bags and leftover food and drinks from groups of people who have the same hobby of eating, drinking and watching the stars at night. It is grass, duckweed, garbage "salvaged" from the lake. But the most frightening are the animals "allowed" to float in the lake. There are animals up to a meter long, floating on the water surface... From the surface of the water that has turned black, from the animals in the process of transformation, a terrible stench is emitted...

“It seems like there is indifference and apathy towards this project worth hundreds of billions of dong...”.

The North Canal Reservoir was completed not long ago, but it seems to lack management and care. Therefore, all kinds of bushes and weeds have grown on the lawns, on the sidewalks, and even on the border between the road and the concrete sidewalk. In some sections, grass and bushes have completely covered the sidewalks, becoming garbage dumps. And there are quite a few “strange” objects lying haphazardly on the sidewalks, lawns, or “entwined” with trees, which need to be cared for to be healthy and provide shade for the lake complex. Such as tables, chairs, iron frames..., which must be night-time selling tools of makeshift stalls, when they are off, they use ropes to tie them, or use rope locks to lock them to the tree trunks...

Joining us in “admiring” the North Canal Lake were a few friends. Perhaps they were also surprised by the scenery here, so they commented: “It seems like there is indifference and insensitivity towards this project worth hundreds of billions of dong...”.

Around the management road, construction waste is everywhere. Photo: Nhat Lan

FIX MANAGEMENT ERROR

Feeling sorry for the current situation of Kenh Bac regulating lake, we contacted the leaders of Vinh City People's Committee. Then we learned that Kenh Bac regulating lake has a process for managing and operating construction items; at the same time, the city has also assigned responsibility to the direct management unit, Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company, to strictly implement management and operation.

The process of managing and operating the construction items of the North Canal regulating lake was issued by the Vinh City People's Committee in Decision No. 3815/QD-UBND, dated July 14, 2020. In particular, the process of maintaining environmental sanitation is stipulated as follows: Regularly implemented once every 10 days; in emergency cases when directed by the City People's Committee or there are unusual signs that may cause environmental pollution: once a day. Regarding practical operations, requirements: Use boats and other means, use rakes and tools; scoop up duckweed, trash and floating objects on the lake surface; lift the sluice gates into the lake and take them for treatment. Use bamboo, meters or floating buoys at the sluice gates, discharge gates, and along the embankment slopes to facilitate the collection of duckweed, floating waste and reduce the working area. Pick up trash, grass, trees, and animals on the lake roof, management roads, and sidewalks of management roads; Use rakes and scoops to collect duckweed and trash around the sewers and put them on the collection vehicle (garbage here includes household waste discharged by people, natural waste and construction waste piles equal to or less than 0.2m).³Regarding quality, requirements: On the pond roof, the water surface must be free of duckweed, trash, and waste; the sluice gates must be clean and flow freely; all collected trash and waste must be transported to the designated place within the day.

Boxes, plastic bags, and leftover food and drinks are also everywhere on the grass and embankments. Photo: Nhat Lan

"When we asked, the operations manager always reported that they were doing everything as required. Doing things like this is going to be terrible..."

Comparing the above regulations, we have stated the reality.garbage, grass, pollution in the North Canal regulating laketo ask Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company. With the images recorded on April 23, 2021, the leader of this unit proactively took responsibility. Because as this leader said, after Decision No. 3815/QD-UBND of Vinh City People's Committee, the Company arranged human resources to carry out management and operation work. "But when we asked, the management and operation staff always reported that they were performing as required. Doing it like this is a dead end..." - the representative said. At the same time, he contacted a person named Ngoc, requesting an urgent inspection and immediate handling of the existing problems...

Although Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company takes responsibility, the current situation of the Kenh Bac regulating lake partly has the role and responsibility of related departments, offices and units in Vinh city and the People's Committees of Hung Loc and Hung Hoa communes. In order for the Kenh Bac regulating lake to be well cared for and protected, thereby exploiting all its functions, in Decision No. 3815/QD-UBND, Vinh City People's Committee not only assigns responsibility to the operating management unit. Specifically, with the People's Committees of Hung Loc and Hung Hoa communes, it is necessary to "Organize inspections and strictly handle violations that affect environmental sanitation and technical infrastructure works in the area...". Or with Vinh City Green Park Joint Stock Company, it is responsible for taking care of trees and lawns. Letting littering happen, or trees being locked with "foreign objects"..., clearly has part of their responsibility!

Objects of makeshift stalls locked with trees. Photo: Nhat Lan

INCREASING COMMUNITY AWARENESS

At the Kenh Bac lake area, a rare bright spot is the billboards whose content and images are associated with calling on the community to join hands in protecting the environment.

Upon learning, the signs with very good content such as "Garbage is our own hands. Disposing of it properly is civilized" were made by a group of volunteers. These people, seeing that the regulating lake brings immeasurable good values ​​to the community, but there is a group that is indifferent to environmental protection, is the direct agent of discharging waste, so they joined in. They called for the creation of slogans and drawings with content about environmental protection but close, easy to win people's hearts; voluntarily contributing money to print, frame, and hang in easy-to-observe locations. Through that, they hope to call on the community to join hands to protect the regulating lake environment with specific actions. That is, not to discharge waste into the regulating lake and surrounding infrastructure.

Reading the slogans, we see that the target audience of these volunteers is correct. Because the “culprit” of construction waste, sugarcane bagasse, fruit peels, boxes, plastic bags, leftover food and drinks, dead animals floating in the lake..., is none other than a part of the population that lacks awareness of living in Vinh city.

Signs calling on the community to join hands in protecting the environment in the lake area. Photo: Nhat Lan

The unit assigned to manage and operate the reservoir will have to correct the errors; the relevant departments, offices, units and the authorities of the two communes of Hung Loc and Hung Hoa will have to take more active action. But that is still not enough. Because if in the community there are still individuals who lack awareness, are still "heartless, insensitive", the landscape of the Kenh Bac reservoir will continue to be negatively affected, and thus, it will be very difficult to end the environmental pollution./.