About the place that people call the land of… flies

(Baonghean.vn) - Flies are dirty insects that no one likes. However, the people of Hamlet 5, Ngoc Son Commune (Quynh Luu) call their place the land of... flies! What can we do - the people lament - every house has placed bait in some places, or sprayed pesticides but the flies still breed...

Living with...flies!

Located near two large lakes Khe Gang and An Ngai, and nestled among pine hills over 40 years old, one would think that Hamlet 5, Ngoc Son Commune would be an ideal living environment. But it is not. In the houses of the residents, in the yard, inside the house, flies can be seen everywhere. In damp, stinking places, flies are densely packed. Whenever there is a movement, swarms and swarms of them fly up, making the eyes dizzy.

For several years now, people in Hamlet 5, Ngoc Son Commune have been very upset about the problem of flies.

On the baited panels of the residents of hamlet 5, the flies were dead and black.

Because of the many flies, life is extremely uncomfortable. So every household thinks of ways to kill flies. Most households buy fly killer and spread it on areca leaves and cardboard and place it in many places in the house. However, this method seems to be ineffective. Because only a few hours later, the place where the killer is placed is full of dead flies. Many households are frustrated and buy powdered medicine, mix it with water and put it in a spray bottle to spray everywhere. With this method, flies that get stuck in the poison die in black clumps all over the house and yard. But unfortunately, because it has to be sprayed many times a day, it is very smelly and toxic.

Knowing it is toxic, Mr. Nguyen Van Dong still has to use a spray bottle to spray insecticide to kill flies.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, is one of the households in Hamlet 5 that uses a pesticide sprayer to kill flies. He lamented: “Flies are a terrible nightmare for us. This season is still bearable. In May and June, when the weather is humid, there are a lot of flies. Many families have to hang mosquito nets to eat. During those days, I had to spray up to 5 times. Every time I took the sprayer out to spray, I had to chase my wife and children away like an evil spirit because the smell of the pesticide was very bad and toxic…”.

In this area, in addition to the residents of Hamlet 5, there are also dozens of families of workers from Team 2, Quynh Luu Forestry Company who also suffer from flies. The pine sap tappers lamented that they worked hard in the rain and sun to tap the pines, but when they got home, they could not rest in peace because “flies swarmed” as soon as they sat down at the table. “On holidays or death anniversaries, there was endless worry. On those days, when guests came to the house and saw flies, they were scared and could not eat or drink…” – said a female worker. The staff of Quynh Luu Forestry Company understood and shared the “suffering from flies” that their workers were enduring. Mr. Tran Van Bao – Head of the Planning Department said: “We sometimes stay to eat with the workers. Seeing so many flies, I thought it was too hard for our brothers and sisters…”.

Ngoc Son landfill, which contains garbage from the entire Quynh Luu district and Hoang Mai town, is the culprit causing the fly problem.

The reason why there are so many flies in Hamlet 5, Ngoc Son Commune is because it is close to the common garbage dump of the whole old Quynh Luu District (including Hoang Mai Town) - the people here are upset to say. They said: "In the past, the air here was fresh and there were no flies or mosquitoes like now. Only in the past few years, when the district built garbage dumps for dozens of communes and towns, did the flies become a problem...".

Landfill regulations sign at Ngoc Son landfill.

From hamlet 5 to the landfill is only about 500 - 600m. The landfill is several hectares wide, with a security room but the door is closed. At the landfill, all kinds of waste are piled up several meters above the ground, spilling out of the pit area, the gate... And, there are a lot of flies. There is the sound of car engines, flies flying everywhere, creating a deafening buzzing sound. On the landfill, a few cows are looking for food and a few women with their hands, legs and faces covered are wandering around the waste. From afar, they waved to ask questions, but they pointed at their faces, then waved their hands and refused. As if saying they couldn't talk because of... flies.

How long will people endure?

Ngoc Son landfill was invested in construction and put into operation in 2012. This is a landfill with a scale of 7 hectares, with 3 garbage pits, 2 leachate pits. To manage and treat waste at Ngoc Son landfill, Quynh Luu District People's Committee has signed a contract with Thai Binh Nguyen Company Limited. This contractor, in addition to the responsibility of managing and preserving all facilities of the landfill; receiving garbage from communes and towns according to the correct type and directly instructing the dumping of garbage into the pit, is responsible for burying and rolling garbage according to technical procedures; managing and collecting garbage along the route from National Highway 48B to the landfill, in the landfill area, the surrounding drainage system, not allowing garbage to accumulate on the road, the area near the protective fence, drainage ditches; spraying chemicals to treat odors, treat insects (flies, bugs) periodically every week, every month...

The path to the dump was covered with trash.

According to the documents kept at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quynh Luu district, every 2 months, the environmental officer Dang Thi Dung conducts inspections of waste management and treatment at Ngoc Son landfill. Through each inspection, the contractor's responsibility is assessed, in addition, urging and reminding to spray chemicals to treat the waste dump environment to minimize "the maximum amount of insects". However, when hearing the information from us, according to Mr. Dau Dinh Nam - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the district, "in residential areas near the landfill, it is very difficult to avoid the problem of flies". And said that, they will strengthen supervision of the contractor to implement the terms signed in the contract, especially the spraying of chemicals to treat insects.

According to regulations, livestock are not allowed to graze on landfills, but cattle appear on them.

Regarding long-term solutions, Mr. Dau Dinh Nam discussed that although Ngoc Son landfill is large, it has shown signs of overload because garbage from Hoang Mai town is also brought here. Therefore, Quynh Luu district has sent an official dispatch requesting Hoang Mai town to stop bringing garbage to Ngoc Son landfill since January 2016. In addition, they are looking for investors to implement the waste treatment plant project...

Also according to regulations, the contractor must have someone on duty at the landfill, but the guard house is closed and quiet.

In fact, the problems that residents living around Ngoc Son landfill are having to endure have been reported by many media agencies. However, in reality, there has been no progress. Garbage is left overflowing outside the landfill, piled high, and it is clear that the leveling, compacting, and cleaning are not done well; moreover, there is a stench and countless flies at the landfill, which proves that the spraying of pesticides is not guaranteed.

Therefore, it is necessary to closely monitor and force contractors to fulfill their responsibilities; in addition, it is necessary to organize widespread spraying of pesticides in all areas surrounding the landfill to eliminate flies and mosquitoes. It is known that these are only temporary solutions. However, while looking for investors to implement the waste treatment plant project, we must pay attention and implement it. Do not let people complain that their place is a land of flies.

Ha Giang