Food poisoning alert in flood season

The Food Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health July 24 ordered its sub-departments to implement actions to ensure food safety before, in and after the flood during the rainy season.

The food administration said that before the flood season, the departments of health nationwide should raise people’s awareness of food safety to prevent poisoning and food-borne diseases. Locals in vulnerable districts should pay attention to this year-period.

Local authorities in the flood prone regions should urge residents to stock up on food, processed and non-perishable food, bottled water, medications, disinfectants and other essential items now in readiness for the oncoming wet season. People should add vitamins in their meals willingly.

Earlier, health clinics were also urged to stock chemicals, equipment and personnel for preparedness to treat food poisoning or food-borne illness. Health watchdogs have intensified inspection and issued fine to businesses and companies, whose take advantaged of food shortage to release unsafe food in markets.

Health watchdogs should guide people to conduct environment sanitation including clean and safe water supply, efficient and safe animal, human, and industrial waste disposal, protection of food from biological and chemical contaminants, and adequate housing in clean and safe surrounding after the flood.

Khanh Hoa suffers factory pollution

Residents in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa have been suffering from high levels of pollution caused by hundreds of unregistered manufacturers operating in populated areas, according to the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper.

Reports from the Khanh Hoa Department of Environment and Natural Resources pointed out that 246 private factories, responsible for the pollution, manufacture bricks, seafood, fish sauce, and other items and are located in built-up areas across the province.

Also, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade has conducted random environmental inspections at some 29 manufacturers in the province.

The results of these inspections revealed that the permitted noise and dust pollution levels were exceeded by amounts up to twice the permitted levels of pollution.

Noise and dust pollution were mostly found in rice milling, textiles, charcoal factories and traditional brickyards in the province.

"Fumes, dust and noise pollution coming from brickyards disturb our daily lives. Many residents have contracted respiratory infections and skin allergies," complained a Phuoc Lam village resident, Nguyen Tinh.

Some 50 to 60 private slaughterhouses, located in built-up areas in Nha Trang city, failed to meet safety standards, with coliform bacillus levels reaching some 4800x106 times higher than the permitted levels. Further, the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) level in the slaughterhouses exceeded the permitted level by 13,1 times.

Despite being installed with a wastewater treatment system, dozens of seafood and fish sauce factories in Nha Trang and Cam Ranh cities continue to be the sources of serious environmental pollution to neighbouring areas. Officials note that the wastewater pollution level in Dai Cat Co., Ltd was found to exceed the permitted level by up to 2.2 million times.

Khanh Hoa People's Committee has submitted a report to the municipal People's Assembly on the relocation of private manufacturers that release pollution to the province's industrial zones. But the plan was not approved due to obstacles in procedures and a shortage of funds.

The People's Committee has also called upon those brickyards causing pollution in Dien Khanh, Cam Lam and Van Ninh districts, and Ninh Hoa town, including Ninh Phung and Ninh Xuan communes, to shut down in June. No sign of the close-down till now.

However, Ninh Xuan Commune People's Committee Vice President Vo Huong said about one thousand workers would become unemployed if all traditional brickyards in the commune were shut down.

He added that an upgrading of technology at the brickyards to manage the pollution would cost a very large amount of money, and "less than 15 per cent of the brickyards can afford to upgrade their technology ".

"The province administration has to offer support in career changes for the residents when the brickyards are shut down and help them resettle as soon as possible", noted Huong.

Project helps Tra Vinh adapt to climate change

Authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh launched a project on Friday worth VND521 billion (US$24.5 million) to strengthen local people's ability to adapt to climate change.

Funding includes VND233.5 billion in loans from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), VND126.5 billion in non-refundable aid, VND79.5 billion from the Government and VND81.5 billion contributed by local people.

The project aims to develop sustainable livelihoods for disadvantaged people living in rural areas who are most venerable to climate change and natural disasters.

From 2014 to 2020, it will be implemented in 30 communes across Tra Vinh's seven districts to build climate change adaptation facilities, socio-economic development plans, agricultural production models and small-scale financial funds to provide capital to the poor.

The project is expected to benefit 15,000 low-income households.

Harmful industrial waste trade poses threat

Hazardous industrial waste must be destroyed and has been banned from being sold for fear of heath risks and environmental pollution.

Hazardous waste, however is still being sold in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Hazardous industrial waste trading centres can be found on some streets, such as Nguyen Ai Quoc, Bui Van Hoa and along National Highway 1A, according to a report in the Nong thon Ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper.

Popular waste being sold includes plastic cans and containers that once contained chemical substances from companies and factories. These containers have a capacity of between 10-1,000 litres and are often sold to local consumers, who later use the containers to store water for daily use or agricultural production.

Under current regulations, these containers must be collected and treated by authorised agencies with proper treatment technologies to ensure they will not spread harmful chemicals after treatment.

However, the owner of a shop selling these containers on Nguyen Ai Quoc street told the newspaper that she cleaned all containers with normal detergent or washing powders, and they were now safe to use for water storage.

According to a representative from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, hazardous industrial waste, including different types of packing or wrapping, could cause health risks for consumers, such as cancer, gene mutation or affecting the users' reproductive health.

The department regularly warns local residents not to purchase or use any types of hazardous industrial waste to store water or food.

Further, the department's deputy director, Nguyen Ngoc Thuong, said the provincial People's Committee has urged authorities in the districts of Long Thanh, Nhon Trach, Trang Bom and Bien Hoa City to regularly inspect waste collection and trade facilities and resolutely suspend or remove facilities without licenses or environmental protection documents.

The department would also increase inspections and tighten controls over industrial factories, waste collectors and transporters to prevent the spread of hazardous industrial waste, he said.

Quang Nam to set up early flood warning system

An early flash flood warning system using Machine to Machine (M2M) and cloud computing technology will be set up in the central province of Quang Nam as part of efforts to help local people effectively respond to natural disasters.

The project will be carried out by the Post and Telecommunications Institute of Technology and the provincial Department of Information and Communications under the assistance of experts from Japan's Waseda University.

The system, comprising of three water speed and flow sensors and a solar energy server, will be placed in the Nuoc Ui River in the mountainous Nam Tra My District, which usually suffers from flash floods and landslides in the rainy season.

A hydro-meteorological station will be also built in the upstream area of the river to aid the system's flood forecasting capacity.

Factory dumps waste in marsh

Authorities in Thuy Nguyen District in the northern port city of Hai Phong have caught a company discharging waste water into a marsh next to the Bach Dang River.

Residents in Phuc Le Commune reported to Lao dong (Labour) newspaper that the Hai Phong Thermo-electric Joint-stock Company discharged its waste into the marsh in Phuc Le, Pha Le and Lap Le communes.

On Wednesday, a reporter at the scene saw the company's waste-water reservoir leaking into the marsh through cinder bags.

Later, the bags were removed and waste water from the reservoir poured into the marsh. The reporter phoned local authorities to come and catch the culprits red-handed.

Pham Quang Thuy, head of the Phuc Le Commune Police, said that several months ago, the company signed a contract with the police to protect the marsh area for VND3.5 million (US$160) a month.

Thuy, who once worked at the company, was told by workers not to eat fish in the marsh because it was poisoned.

A year ago the company lowered the bank of the reservoir by 60 centimetres, and then put cinder bags on the bank to prevent water from overflowing.

Cao Xuan Nhuong, deputy head of the company's Technology Division, claimed he did not know that water from the reservoir had overflowed into the marsh.

Chairman of the Thuy Nguyen District People's Committee Nguyen Tran Lanh said that the district would wait for tests results on the water before deciding on what punishment to give the company.

Lao Cai works hard to evacuate locals from dangerous areas

Authorities of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai are striving to finish the evacuation of over 140 local households residing in and around areas vulnerable to flood and landslide as the rainy season begins.

The districts of Bac Ha, Bat Xat, Bao Yen and Sa Pa see the highest numbers of households yet to be moved to safe places.

According to the provincial Steering Committee for Flood Prevention and Control, Lao Cai has so far fulfilled only 57 percent of its evacuation plan, while the disbursement for building resettlement facilities is also tardy, reaching about 50 percent from the arranged budget.

Meanwhile, the northwestern region officially entered into the rainy season, worrying local households, especially those living in disaster-stricken areas.

The provincial People’s Committee has asked district-level authorities to hasten the evacuation, so as to ensure safety for its locals in any case.

Lao Cai is one of the provinces hardest hit by natural disasters during the rainy season. In 2008, a village in the province was swept away by landslides.

Last year, flash floods and landslides caused by heavy downpours in Sa Pa’s Ban Khoang commune claimed tens lives and caused losses worth hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong.-

157 medicine cabinets offered to Ha Tinh fisheries trade union

Minister of Public Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien on July 27 presented 157 cabinets of medicines to the Fisheries Trade Union of Cam Nhuong commune, the central province of Ha Tinh.

The cabinets contain various kinds of common medicines and medical tools, which will come in handy in case fishermen fail to visit any medical station.

The event is part of a programme launched by the ministry on May 31 in an effort to improve medical care for fishermen, Tien said at the offering ceremony.

On the occasion of the 67th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27), Tien also visited and presented gifts to three local war invalids before paying tribute to the late Party leaders Ha Huy Tap and Le Duan at Ke Go tourist site and Dong Loc historical relic site.

New 500kV transmission line launched in northern region

The National Power Transmission Corporation (EVN NPT) made a successfully test run of the Quang Ninh-Hiep Hoa 500kV transmission line on late July 26.

The 139-km transmission line, which runs through three northern provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Bac Giang, was built with a total investment of over 2.2 trillion VND (approximately 107 million USD) funded by World Bank loans and domestic counterpart capital.

The line will ensure the transmission of electricity from the Quang Ninh-Mong Duong thermal power complex to the national grid, meeting the rising demand for power in the northern region as well as in the country as a whole.

According to the EVN NPT, the power transmission system will be able to meet the economy’s demand for an annual amount of 145-150 billion kWh in 2015, and 265-275 billion kWh by 2020.

The corporation will maintain and extend the 220-500 kV transmission system connected with China, Laos and Cambodia, looking to building a smart grid capable of improving the quality of electricity supply service.

Design contest launched for Gac Ma memorial park

A contest was launched in Ho Chi Minh City on July 25 for the best design for a memorial park dedicated to officers and soldiers who perished in a battle on March 14, 1988 to defend national sovereignty of Gac Ma island in Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

The contest is co-organised by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL), the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

The park will be constructed in Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Addressing the contest launching ceremony, VGCL President Dang Ngoc Tung said the best design must demonstrate the brave sacrifice and the unyielding spirit of the Gac Ma heroes.

The contest is open to all domestic organisations and individuals including overseas Vietnamese. Contestants should register by August 25, while entries should be sent between August 1 and October 31 this year.

The result will be announced in early November.

Over 4.8 billion USD used for transport projects in Mekong Delta

Fifty-three transport projects have been carried out in the Mekong Delta region since 2010 with a combined investment of over 103 trillion VND (4.84 billion USD), accounting for 22 percent of the country’s total investment for the sector.

According to the Transport Ministry, 32 projects worth 37.8 trillion VND (1.77 billion USD) will be completed by the end of 2015.

Several key projects using ODA capital include the development of transport infrastructure in the Mekong Delta, and construction of southern coastal roads and Vam Cong and Cao Lanh bridges.

The ministry mobilised investment capital from the society. It called on a total investment of 7.1 trillion VND (333.7 million USD) from businesses to implement five projects under the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model.

In the 2015-2020 period, the region needs around 87 trillion VND (4.08 billion USD) for its transport infrastructure projects.

Son La works to support locals with housing

The Northwestern mountainous province of Son La is carrying out a plan on upgrading and building 9,539 houses for local people who rendered service to the nation and faced difficulties in residence.

Of the total, over 3,500 new houses will be built, while 6,000 others are to be upgraded, following the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 22/2013 QD/TTg approving the plan for 2014.

Currently, work has been commenced on the construction of 1,057 houses at a cost of 43 billion VND (2.04 million USD) from the central budget, accounting for about 30 percent of the target.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, local authorities have kept a close watch on the work to ensure the quality of the houses, whose floor space is from 30 square metres each.

The province has also drafted a 2015 plan that will support 8,000 families having contributors to the national revolution with about 219 billion VND (10.4 million USD).

Son La has implemented a housing programme since 2008 to benefit as many as 20,000 poor local households from ethnic minority groups with a total investment of 392 billion VND (18.6 million USD).

Tay Ninh moves to combat cross-border drug trafficking

The southern province of Tay Ninh, with five districts bordering Cambodia, has intensified the fight against cross-border drug trafficking.

Tay Ninh shares a border line of 240 kilometres with Cambodia on which there sit two international and 14 auxiliary border gates.

Since the beginning of 2014, the provincial Border Guard Command has launched operations against drug smugglers, while strengthening the capacity of border guard and police forces.

The local border guard has coordinated with other local forces and the Cambodian side in sharing information and experience and boosting communication campaigns in order to effectively prevent the crime.

So far this year, local authorised forces have uncovered 67 drug cases involving 236 suspects, collecting 9.8 kg of heroin and nearly 16 grammes of synthetic drugs.

Suspension bridge project to aid 28 mountainous localities

The Ministry of Transport is striving to complete the construction of 186 suspension bridges in 28 mountainous provinces in the northern, central and Central Highlands regions as early as in the second quarter of 2015.

As part of the project, four bridges are being constructed in the northern provinces of Yen Bai, Bac Can and Ha Nam and central Nghe An province.

Outlined by the ministry, the scheme aims to help improve living conditions for inhabitants in mountainous and remote areas of the country and mitigate the risks of traffic accidents, especially during the flood season.

The plan is also to deal with the fact that 40 percent of all the suspension bridges across the country are in need of urgent repairs or reconstruction, according to the ministry.

Figures from the ministry indicate that there are about 1,950 suspension bridges in Vietnam. About 810 operational bridges - roughly 40 percent - have shown signs of erosion and rust. Up to 94 percent of them are located on roads connecting villages and communes.

Nearly 4 million USD for mine clearance in Quang Binh

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an international humanitarian organisation operating in mine clearance, will spend 3.9 million USD clearing unexploded ordnance (UXOs) in central Quang Binh province from January 2015 to December 2015.

It was said in a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the fifth phase of MAG’s project on detecting and clearing UXOs signed recently by representatives from the provincial People’s Committee and the group.

The project aims to minimise the risk of casualties caused by bombs and mines left over from wars, and provide support for war-affected people in the locality, which was hard hit by bombings during wartime.

MAG is a non-governmental organisation working actively to ensure safety for production and people living in localities plagued by UXOs in Vietnam.

Under the project implemented in Quang Binh from 2002, MAG has cleared nearly 1.9 million sq.m of land and defused about 86,000 devices, benefiting more than 1.4 million locals.

The consequences of war-era leftover UXOs still exist visibly nationwide, especially in the northern central provinces.

According to preliminary statistics, since 1975, mines and UXOs have claimed more than 40,000 lives and left about 60,000 injured, mostly rural people and children.

The volume of mines and UXOs left by the war is now estimated at 800,000 tonnes, contaminating over 20 percent of the country’s land.-

Khanh Hoa to build hospital in Truong Sa island district

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa will invest 52 billion VND (2.45 million USD) in building a 30-bed hospital in Truong Sa island district by 2015 under a scheme on offshore healthcare services.

Between 2016-2020, it will allocate an additional 25 billion VND (1.18 million USD) for developing Telemedicine models applying information-communication technology connecting mainland military hospital 87 and offshore Truong Sa hospital.

Training courses will be also organised for medical staff working on cargo ships and oceangoing vessels to satisfy international medical regulations.

The 115 emergency centre’s capacity will be also strengthened to be able to deliver emergency services and transport patients at sea.

Khanh Hoa is home to 48 communes, wards and towns lying next to the sea. The Truong Sa island district consists of Truong Sa township and the communes of Sinh Ton and Song Tu Tay.-

“City for peace” title gives Hanoi new facelift

Hanoi is the sole city in Asia to be recognised as City for Peace by UNESCO thanks to the ceaseless efforts by municipal authorities and city dwellers to meet the organisation’s standards in economics, culture, education and urban development, among others.

Director of the Thang Long culture research institute Nguyen Viet Chuc made the remarks at a workshop on July 24 to review the capital’s achievements after 15 years of integration and development as well as mark the recognition and International Day of Peace (September 21).

Hanoi posted a 7.4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the first half of this year, a 1.5-fold increase against that of the nation, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

The city’s economy expanded by 7.4 percent in the period, driven by a 14.4 percent growth in exports. Inflows of foreign direct investment hit 583 million USD, up over 30 percent year-on-year.

Recently, the city spent over 17.1 trillion VND (around 1.1 billion USD) building new-style rural areas, which covers building infrastructure and public works, protecting landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and cultural identities.

As a safe and attractive destination with many historical relics, Hanoi records an annual increase of over 10 percent in the number foreign holidaymakers. Last year, the city welcomed the 25 millionth overseas tourists, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The City for Peace recognition is not only the honour but also a challenge for the capital to promote these achievements and ease pressures from rapid urbanisation and environmental pollution, participants said.

In 1999, Hanoi was among five cities in five continents presented with the award by the UNESCO in recognition of its contributions to the struggle for peace.-

Dau Tieng water safe for use

Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) has reported water from Dau Tieng Lake is dioxin-free, and the company will proceed with a plan to use crude water from Dau Tieng and Tri An reservoirs to supply HCMC.

The report was made following a study conducted with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Based on research findings, in the 2015 – 2020 period, Sawaco plans to construct a water pipeline to bring water from Dau Tieng Lake to the water plants which currently use water from the Saigon River, said Nguyen Kim Thach, deputy head of the Water Quality Management Department of Sawaco.

Thach told the Daily on the sidelines of a seminar on the water sector development taking place in HCMC yesterday.

Previously, local media cited a report of the Institute of Coastal and Offshore Engineering warning that Dau Tieng valley may have been contaminated with dioxin since the war. The toxic could remain in the sediment at the bottom of the lake.

However, talking to the Daily, Thach affirmed: “In JICA’s research, the samples from Dau Tieng and Tri An lakes were collected two times and brought to Osaka in Japan for analysis. Results showed slight organic pollution without dioxin contamination in Dau Tieng water. Sawaco is relieved by the result and continues to keep a close watch on this water source.”

Currently, Sawaco is treating crude water from the Saigon River to supply the city.

Under the water supply planning until 2025 approved by the Prime Minister in 2012, HCMC will use crude water sources from Tri An, Dau Tieng and Phuoc Hoa reservoirs as a backup in case Dong Nai and Saigon rivers suffer severe saltwater intrusion and worsening pollution.

Most of the city’s existing water treatment plants such as Thu Duc, Thu Duc BOO, Binh An, and Tan Hiep 1 treat water pumped from the Dong Nai and Saigon rivers.

In the near future, the city will build Thu Duc 3, Thu Duc 4, Tan Hiep 2, Tan Hiep 3 and other plants; these plants will tap 2.5 million cubic meters from Tri An Lake and one million cubic meters from Dau Tieng and Phuoc Hoa lakes every day.

Special schools helping children with autism

Public indignation grows after a three minute video clip about the nursemaids’ wicked acts to autistic students was released.

The video clip showed the illegal private school's staff of the “Anh Vuong Special Primary School” in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District torturing and beating its autistic students including beating autistic students with wooden piece and clothes-hangers.

Many people wondered why an illegal school have been operating over five years?   

After that, the city’s Department of Education and Training ordered to end the school's operation. 27 students at the Anh Vuong School have been taken home by their families.

The parents said that they don’t know where to send their kids. A mother complained she had searched many schools but there is as little as choice for autistic children.

According to the Department of Education and Training, the city has 25 facilities for autistic children where receive more than 27,000 disabled children nationwide. Worse, some of schools are in poor repair without playing yards and special rooms for physical therapy treatment resulting in poor teaching and learning quality.

A teacher of a special school in Phu Nhuan District said that in fact autistic children should study in normal schools to help them to integrate into other children. However, in reality, most primary schools refuse to get autistic students.

Consequently, special schools for autistic children are overloaded.

Le Thai Minh Hau, principal of Tran Quoc Toan Primary School in District 5, the only school welcome autistic students, said that he is determined to receive special students despite of outcry of parents.

The project to help disabled people approved by the Prime Minister on August 5, 2012 pointed out that for the first phase, at least 60 percent of disabled children must access to education.

It seemed that the project’s target is difficult to finish. Education authority should act quickly to bring unlucky children to education and integration opportunity.

Students in culture universities receive exempted tuition fee

The Prime Minister decided to give incentive to students who study traditional arts in universities and colleges with programs in cultural studies and related programs.

Accordingly, in the academic year 2014-2015, university and college students following traditional studies and related program in state-run or private facilities will receive tuition fee exemption as well as bonus.

Cultural studies include bandsman for tradition drama, instrumentalist for Hue traditional folks and don ca tai tu Nam Bo (Southern amateur folk music), “Ca tru” (northern ceremonial singing), “hat bai choi” (a kind of traditional music).

Students studying cultural studies or related programs in state-run facilities are going to receive 70 percent exemption of tuition fee while their counterparts in private schools will receive exemption which does not exceed the regulated level set by the government.

In addition, students in these culture public schools will receive job incentive of 40 percent of scholarships per month and so do their peers in private schools.

Foot-and-mouth disease strikes livestock in central Vietnam

Duc Tho District of the central province of Ha Tinh reported an outbreak of foot-mouth in herds of local cattle on July 25.

Foot-mouth disease has affected multi domestic animals of four houses in Quang Tien Village. These animals suffer high fever, blisters inside the mouth and foot, excessive secretion of stringy or foamy saliva.

An investigation showed that a cow in a herd of cattle of Bui Xuan Tiep in the village had felt in illness six days after being bought from the northern province of Thai  Nguyen. Foot-and-mouth disease virus was transmitted to animals of the next houses.

Local authority disinfected the environment in farms and issued warning that this is infected foot-and-mouth disease. Health watchdog acted quickly to vaccinate to more than 300 cows in the locality. Control stations were set up to forbid the sale, transportation and slaughter of diseased animals to other areas.

Work will officially start on a new British University Vietnam (BUV) multi-million main campus in Ecopark Township – one of the eco urban areas in northern Hung Yen province – in September.

The new university has an estimated total cost of US$60 million and construction will be divided into 3 phases, of which the US$12 million first phase is scheduled for completion by the end of 2014.

The new BUV campus will be the first international university in the Hanoi area constructed in compliance with British-standard facilities, consisting of functional areas such as learning and office spaces, lecture halls, a research area, and a sports complex.

Once completed, annual student enrolment is expected to approximate 7,000 with an academic curriculum in finance-banking, international business administration, marketing management, and others, accredited by the London University and Staffordshire University.

Earlier, BUV held its Open Day 2014 on the university campus at 193 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi.

The annual event provided parents and students with information on the UK programmes focusing on consultation, career orientation, skills set training, and internship programmes for first year students.

It also covered recruitment criteria, tuition and fees, and explanation of scholarship programmes.

Established in 2009, BUV is a successful educational cooperation model between Vietnam and the UK.

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