Water scarcity has affected the lives of nearly 9,000 residents in Thach That District's Chang Son Commune, over 30km from the city centre, for the past 10 years.

Deputy Chairman of the commune People's Committee Nguyen Kim Toan said all of the 15 local wells have dried up inexplicably.

About 15 years ago, residents accessed water from 9m deep wells they dug into the earth, but now even when they dig to 30m, they found no water at all, he explained.

Accordingly, residents have been forced to buy clean water for daily use from neighbouring communes, spending about VND500,000 (US$23) per month on average each.

Toan confirmed that the water shortage has caused nearly 70 per cent of local residents, mostly children, to regularly suffer from skin disease, diarrhoea, dengue fever and sore eyes.

He added that since 2006, a number of ministry and water company representatives have conducted surveys in the commune, but with very little result.

Last year two delegations from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development visited the area to research and install tap-water pipes, but one said it could find no source of water while the other promised to return in the first quarter of this year, but nothing has happened, Toan said.

The commune also submitted a request for help to the Thach That District People's Committee and municipal People's Committee, but has not received any reply.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Thach That People's Committee Tran Duc Nguyen said that last year the district set up a project to supply clean water for Chang Son Commune with a total fund of VND40 billion ($1.9 million), but that until now, capital had remained scarce

Source: VNS