Capital to crackdown on violators

Hanoi Times - Hanoi authorities have started a campaign to crack-down on the environmental violations in 68 establishments in the capital city.In the 24-day effort, inspectors from the Hanoi Natural Resources and Environment Department, officials from the Environment Protection Department and environment police will check local hospitals, hotels, restaurants and factories.Earlier this month, another delegation from the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment checked waste treatment in 14 units in the districts of Tay Ho, Hoan Kiem and Ba Dinh, which exploit water resources for their use and release waste water in the city.The delegation found the majority of the units, mostly hotels and hospitals did not pay attention to environmental protection and violated environmental laws, polluting the surrounding environment with their waste.According to Tran Trong Binh, chief of the environment police office, they recently caught Van Dao Company in Ha Dong City red-handed, release mud and oil sludge into the local Day River.The police said that though the company had released their waste on a small scale, it was seriously toxic as the river is one of the main rivers in the Red River Delta.The delegation will keep checking other suspected violators in the city until the end of next month.Last month, officials found a floating restaurant and a beer producing factory illegally releasing untreated waste and waste water into the West and Truc Bach lakes