Cleanup underway for HCMC's most beautiful canal

By Quynh Tran - Dinh Van
Sun 3/17/2024, 02:00 pm (GMT+7)

Environmental workers have begun clearing out the trash infesting a segment of the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal in HCMC, after a month piling up due to cleaning contracts not being renewed.

At 6 a.m. on Saturday, over 10 employees from the HCMC Urban Environment Company began to remove the trash from the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal section running through Tan Binh District.

The 40 m-long segment of canal was full of garbage and water hyacinths, with the water letting off a foul smell.
For over a month, the area was infested with trash. The collecting unit did not have their contract renewed, leaving the trash to pile up day after day, to over 100 tons.
The Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, spanning 10 km, runs through districts 1, 3, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan and Tan Binh. It ends at the Saigon River. The canal used to be polluted but was renovated 13 years ago. It is now considered to be the most beautiful canal in downtown HCMC.

Two boats were deployed to collect the trash near Bridge No.1. Since Friday, collectors have cleaned up around 13 tons.
As some of the bridges were too close to the water surface, the team had to begin work at 3 a.m., when water levels were low, to gain access to the trash-infested areas.
Truong Van Ho, head of the collection team, said that ever since the canal began its renovation in 2011, this is the time when the trash has been filled up the most.
The garbage comes from the sewers and is thrown by the people, and as they were left to fester, the collectors found it difficult to clean. It will take them about 10 days to get rid of all the trash.