Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called for stricter management of festivals
organised around the country during the lunar new year festival period so that
they do not become overly commercialised.

A ceremony to worship Au Co, believed to be the mother of the nation, is under way at Au Co Temple in northern Phu Tho Province’s Ha Hoa District. (Photo: VNS)

In an official letter
sent to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committees
of provinces and cities, the Prime Minister said the organisation of large-scale
festivals was common throughout many localities, but there was a lack of
awareness among organisers of the cultural significance of the festivals, a
problem compounded by ignorant festival visitors.

Dung urged organisers
to show more responsibility in deciding the scale of the events and programme
content for the festivals. Invitations to guests from the Government to attend
festivals needed to be approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,
he said.

The Prime Minister
also called for regular monitoring to prevent illegal price hikes of goods and
services, and to curb superstitious practices including the burning of votive
offerings and use of unofficial donation boxes.

The first months of
the year typically sees many major festivals including the Huong Pagoda Festival
in Ha Noi’s My Duc District, the Yen Tu Festival in northern Quang Ninh
Province, the Phu Day Festival in northern Nam Dinh Province and the Ba Chua Xu
Festival in the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang.

The Prime Minister
told the People’s Committees of the host provinces that they should take
measures to maintain order and security for the people and ensure that no fires,
explosions or other untoward incidents took place.

Vu Xuan Thanh, chief
inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that local
authorities must focus on dividing traffic lanes for vehicles and pedestrians to
avoid congestion and unexpected incidents during major festivals.

Thanh said the recent
fatal stampede in Cambodia was a lesson for the management of large-scaled
festivals in Viet Nam. More than 800 festivals take place in Viet Nam each year,
attracting thousands of international and domestic visitors every year.

People’s Committee of
cities and provinces would have to take the main responsibility for any
violations, Thanh said.

In a related move, the
Ministry of Health has required health departments and clinics in localities to
assure cooking hygiene and safety of festival food stalls.

Sign up

The ministry asked
local health departments to guide food service providers to sign up to
commitments on food safety while providing clean water, stalls and other
equipment to ensure food safety.

Local health
departments were asked to provide rubbish collection services to stall owners.
Food sellers were requested to wear gloves while working during the festivals
and street food vendors selling goods of unclear origin were banned.

Nguyen Viet Cuong,
chief inspector of the Ha Noi’s Department of Health, said that local
authorities in areas where festivals would be organised must take responsibility
of inspecting food safety.

Figures from the
ministry showed that there were 132 cases of food poisoning nationwide, killing
41 and hospitalising more than 3,280 people.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News