“We noted that more mosquitos have appeared recently. Mosquitos are mostly found in areas with many polluted canals,” Dr. Le Van Nhan, deputy director of the HCM City Preventive Medicine Center, said.

The canals have become seriously polluted with litter. It is now the rainy season in HCM City. The rainwater remaining in objects thrown out by people, such as milk cans, lunch boxes, tires and old vases, are the ideal environment for mosquitoes to reproduce.

Binh Hung Hoa Ward in Binh Tan District is one of the most polluted areas in HCM City because of the section of 19-5 canal, which is seriously polluted.

The water of the canal has turned black. As litter floods the canal surface, the water cannot flow and gives bad odor. 

Garbage can be seen not only on the canal’s surface, but also on the canal banks.

According to Le Van Minh, a local resident in Binh Hung Hoa Ward, the ward’s authorities sometimes launch a campaign to pick up garbage from the canal. 

However, this does not help, because the canal people continue throwing litter.

Water hyacinth is also a culprit that causes the serious pollution in the locality. 

In April 2015, the local authorities of Le Minh Xuan and Tan Nhut Communes, where the Lang Le – Bau Co canal runs across, asked local people to remove hyacinth and garbage, and the pollution was eased. 

However, garbage still can be seen under the Kenh B Bridge in the area bordering the two communes.

The HCM City People’s Committee, anticipating problems caused in the rainy season, in February 2015 released a document requesting to clean up the environment and kill mosquito larvae.

According to Pham Nguyen Hieu Trung, three large clean-up campaigns have been launched so far this year, while the local authorities’ officers have been requested to control the litter. 

However, garbage still has been flooding the canal and ground, while Trung admitted that it was nearly impossible to prevent people from throwing litter.

Lam Tram Bang Nhan, deputy chair of Le Minh Xuan commune People’s Committee, noted that there are many causes of environmental pollution: water hyacinth’s rapid growth, public litter, staff of companies located along the canal throwing lunch boxes and garbage from the Lang Le – Bau Co canal banks.

The HCM City Preventive Medicine Center has reported an increase in the number of dengue fever cases. As many as 115 dengue patients were reported in the 25th week of the year.

Thien Nhien