Crane collapses onto house in Hanoi; New urban area, park to be built in eastern Hanoi; Men die after fishing boat sank; UK to fund info campaign on migration

A 20-meter section of a crane being used to build a nine-storey building on Thai Ha Street, Hanoi broke suddenly on March 22 and crashed onto a house next door. No one was injured in the incident.

The crane broke at a height of seven-storey off the ground, causing curious passersby to stop and look.

The crowd of onlookers led to a serious traffic jam in the area, and police were called to block off the site and clear away vehicles.

Traffic remained congested for some time however, as the accident occurred during rush hour.

The contractor of the building is now working on removing the collapsed section.

VNRC helps people access clean water

Only 11.7 percent of the people in rural areas have access to tap water, 33.1 percent use well-water and the other 50 percent use water from other sources.

The figure was announced by the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) at a meeting to respond to the World Water Day held on March 22 in phu Tho province.

According to the announcement, only 47 percent of the people employ measures for water treatment before use while 80 percent of them do not have a standard toilet. This, together with people’s unhygienic habits, is the cause of digestive diseases like cholera, dysentery and eye-related diseases. Diarrhoea and bacteria contamination of the respiratory system are the two major causes for fatalities children under-five.

VNRC vice chairman Phung Van Hoan said the meeting is aimed at rasing public awareness of the need to preserve the ecosystem and protect people’s health, and measures to improve the quality of water, and reduce pollution.

In recent year, the VNRC have undertaken many projects to help people nationawide access running water and hygienic toilets, in an effort to reduce the spread of epidemics.

In Phu Tho, the society has provided an automatic water-pumping system to 100 households in Tan Son district and a water-filtering system and standard toilet for Ngoc Dong Primary school in Yen lap district.

The VNRC has also built automatic water-pumping systems to other northern moutain provinces and given water-filtering pots and decontamination chemicals to people in the central region which was affected by typhoons Ketsana and Minirae.

Action needed to prevent illegal wildlife hunting and trafficking

It’s urgent to prevent the widespread consumption and trafficking of wild products, which is seriously threatening Vietnam’s ecosystem, said experts at a recent conference in Vietnam.

They called for campaigns to raise public awareness of the risk of wild animals hunting and trafficking by holding campaigns and including this subject in the school curriculum, especially in rural areas.

Tom Osbon of the Vietnam-based Wildlife Management Office stressed the need to legalise multi-sectoral co-operation in preventing, discovering and punishing forest violations in order to protect wild animals effectively.

“It’s also very important to establish special inspectors in localities which record a high number of violations,” he added.

As in many other developing countries, hunting and trading animals in Vietnam has been quite alarming, he said.

Restaurants in the central region consume nearly 2 million wild animals every year, and the annual demand for wild animal products nationwide is estimated at nearly 4,500 tonnes, according to a recent study by WCS.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy head of the Centre for People and Nature Reconciliation, said that the real number of violations of wild animal protection laws last year was much higher than 1,042 case as discovered by The Forest Protection Department.

Roberton added that Vietnam was also an important link in the international wild animal trafficking chain.

Over the last two years, authorities have discovered 57 cases of trafficking in wild animals involving more than 7,612 individuals including monkeys and Tibetan bears and elephant tusks.

Addict rehab policy needs coming into focus

Since almost half the drug users treated in HCM City are from elsewhere, the Government should strengthen co-operation between the city and other provinces to enable discharged former addicts to reintegrate into society, a city official said.

Speaking at a meeting held on March 22, Nguyen Van Minh, deputy head of the city’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, admitted his department did not know what to do with people from other provinces who are released from rehabilitation centres.

In many cases, local authorities and their families refuse to accept them. “It is not right to continue to keep them at the centres but it not right to discharge them either,” he said.

So it is essential to have a framework for co-operation with provinces, he said, adding the Government should also spell out how to deal with former addicts who do not have any place to return to or are rejected by their family or community.

Colonel Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the City police, asked the Government to spell out the criteria to recognize those who are at high risk of relapsing into drug use in order to allow them to use methadone, a drug substitute. Minh also called for clear policies to attract investment in facilities to provide vocational training and create jobs for former addicts and people in rehabilitation centres.

The department reported that city rehabilitation centres have admitted 3,424 addicts so far this year, an increase of 18.4 percent over the same period last year.

City districts reported that nearly 16,000 former addicts live in their localities.

The police reported that around 2,400 of them had begun to use drugs again.

More than 7,000 have found jobs and the city has provided loans worth VND9.8 billion to 1,692 of them to do business.

New urban area, park to be built in eastern Hanoi

A new urban area and a science and entertainment park will be built with a total investment of US$410 million in eastern Hanoi.

The 400-hectare Gia Lam urban area is located about 10 km northeast of downtown and contiguous to Gia Lam district’s administrative centre – Trau Quy town.

Covering seven communes, wards and towns in Long Bien and Gia Lam districts, the new urban area is scheduled to be built in two phases at an estimated cost of US$260 million—with the development of the infrastructure system from 2009-2012 and the development of urban structures from 2012 – 2020.

The project is expected to contribute to forming an independent urban centre on the north bank of the Red River, providing new housing and easing the population density in the downtown area.

Along with the planning of the Gia Lam urban area, a 400-hectare science and entertainment park will be built with the aim of creating a modern entertainment and scientific research centre for Hanoi and the northern region.

The US$150 million project is expected to be completed in 2020.

Men die after fishing boat sank

Vung Tau City’s rescue vessel brought in five of the eight crew members on Sunday, after their fishing boat sank 75 miles off Vung Tau City on Thursday.

Another crew member was rescued by a fishing boat. Two crew members have not been found and have been presumed dead.

Overseas funds to help build dorm

Authorities of central Quang Tri Province’s Pa Tang Commune last Saturday kicked off a dormitory construction project at Pa Tang Secondary School, with funds from an overseas Vietnamese organisation in Germany.

With VND385 million (US$20,263) from the Committee for Assistance to Vietnamese People, the 230-sq.m dormitory project includes five big rooms with toilets, a kitchen and clean water supply to accommodate 50 students whose homes are 15km far away from the school.

The dormitory is expected to open in June.

UK to fund info campaign on migration

The UK will provide £100,000 (US$153,500) for the Immigration Department of Viet Nam to run a nationwide information campaign to raise awareness about the risks and dangers of illegal migration and human trafficking.

The contract was signed by the British Ambassador to Viet Nam, Mark Kent, and the director general of the Immigration Department, Vu Thanh Binh, on Friday in Ha Noi.

Implementing this project, the Immigration Department will work closely with the relevant agencies of Viet Nam, the British Embassy and local and international experts to run an intensive information campaign throughout the country.

The campaign will have three main elements: production of a documentary on migration issues; distribution of a leaflet to people at risk; and distribution of a handbook to Vietnamese officials working on migration, labour and tourism issues.

The project is designed to raise the Vietnamese people’s awareness of human trafficking.

“Migration remains high on the agenda of the UK Government and is a priority activity of the UK in Viet Nam… By providing a better understanding of the risks, dangers and inevitable consequences of illegal migration in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, people will be better able to protect themselves,” said Ambassador Mark Kent.

Vietnam Airlines to open direct flights to Shanghai

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will launch new direct flights between Vietnam and Shanghai, China beginning March 29.

There will be three direct flights between Hanoi and Shanghai per week and four flights from Ho Chi Minh City per week.

In addition to the existing services to Beijing, Canton and Kunming, Vietnam Airlines says it will offer business and tourist passengers more convenient, exciting travel options between Vietnam and China.

On the occasion of the new route launch, Vietnam Airlines will offer promotional fares available online and through ticketing offices and agents around the globe.

HCMC welcomes over 3,000 cruise ship passengers

The Saigontourist Travel Company received 3,250 foreign visitors from two five-star international cruise ships – the Costa Classica and the Costa Allegra – to Ho Chi Minh City on March 22-23.

The tourists, mostly from Italy, Spain, the UK, and Germany, are part of Saigontourist tour that will take them to the Mekong Delta city of My Tho and other localities in the central region including Da Nang, Hoi An, My Son and Hue city.

In HCMC, the visitors will be taken on a city tour, which includes shopping in Ben Thanh Market and visits to workshops that produce rice pancakes and lacquer ware.

The city also plans to welcome another luxury cruise ship, the Europa, on March 29.

PV