Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Truc Bach Lake

Dredging Truc Bach Lake

There is no doubt about the beauty of Truc Bach Lake is but it not always a pleasant place to be because of the pollution and waste in the lake and the craziness on the street in the evening. Almost every single house opens a hotpot restaurant and their staff keep annoying people who drive past. The problem is that they are not supposed to do business on the foot path around the lake. When the police come, they try to move their tables, mats... and leave all the rubbish behind. Besides that, Hanoian don't seem to care about the environment as they throw eveything possible into the lake including plastic bags, bottles and food scraps.

Dredging Truc Bach Lake

Today, I talked to one of the staff of the Hanoi water company on the side of the lake while they were trying to dredge Truc Bach Lake. According to him, " Hanoi water company dredges Truc Bach Lake every two years but they have changed the routine now, as it's getting polluted very quickly due to the habits of the people who live around the lake and their customers. From this year, they will clean up the lake every year to maintain the clean water and the environment for not only the lake but for Hanoi as well". From what I've seen today, these workers are working so hard. Some of them even have to stay overnight in a small floating boat to keep an eye on their machinery. I personally think that the best idea is to educate people about the environment and encourage them to keep the area around their properties tidy.

Dredging Truc Bach Lake

I hope people pay more attention to the environment to keep Hanoi clean and green, particularly as Hanoi's 1000 year anniversary is not too far away. Please keep the world alive!!!

6 comments:

foodhoe said...

oh vietnamese god, can't we petition to your benevolence to make these people stop polluting the lake? if only it could be so... that really is a shame, but at least the public works is trying to step up their efforts to clean things up.

Mai said...

It is such a shame that a country as beautiful as Vietnam being ruined by such careless attitude. While there I was saddened by what I saw. If the situation doesn't improve or the government doesn't step up its effort to clean up, I hate to see what VN will be like in a few years.

Anonymous said...

According what i have seen in my trip so far, Vietnamese people throw everything on the street which is pretty bad. I am not sure is that the culture thing or just bad behavior.
Very good article.
Steve - England

Katie Ngo said...

I really like this post. & yes it is beautiful, but being half Vietnamese myself...I still can't believe most people their don't care about their health. They would just litter everywhere. & Vietnam is very gorgeous.

schiehallion said...

Hi VGod! I am happy and excited to see you picking up some interesting environmental topics. I appreciate your effort here and would love to see such a critical eye on other (particularly food-related) themes in the future. Regarding Truc Bach Lake, like many things on earth, answers are rarely black or white but very often grey. The fact that the lake is actually cleared (and now even anually) gives a signal to residents that the authorities do in fact "clean up the mess". One might ask, what would happen if the lake is left to itself and a complete sewage mess in 3 years? Would local residents develop a sudden self-interest in changing their throw-away behaviour? Would guests vote with their feet, and no longer go to a place that smells and is untidy? Would this not affect restaurants there too? Have you every read Robert Greene's "48 laws of power"? Law #13 says: "When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest!" Keep on taking up the hot topics, Best regards Marco

Van Cong Tu said...

Thanks all for your comments. Have a good day