China's water release helping Vietnam
Updated: 2016-04-07 02:34
By Wang Jian in Ho Chi Minh City and Xu Wei in Beijing (China Daily)
|
|||||||||
The village where Vo Linh Hue lives is dotted with oyster farms, but in recent weeks farmers there have done nothing but clear dead oysters from the ponds.
Ben Tre province, in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta, is experiencing the worst drought in recent history, and saline intrusion has hit rice and oyster farmers especially hard.
"This is the area where the river flows into the city. But now the seawater has pushed inland and killed all the oysters," said Hue, 23, whose family lives in the Ben Tre village of Thua Thanh and has relied on oyster farming for decades.
At the request of Vietnam, China has doubled the amount of water being discharged from the Jinghong Hydropower Station, which is in Southwest China's Yunnan province, to help alleviate the drought. The station is on the upper reaches of the river, which is known in China as the Lancang River.
Between March 15 and April 10, the volume of water discharged from the station is to be about three to three-and-a-half times the normal water flow, according to China's Ministry of Water Resources.
The first water discharged by China had already arrived at the section of the Mekong River in Vietnam as of Monday, according to Vietnam News Agency.
Tran Duc Cuonga, a senior official with the Mekong River Commission in Vietnam, said on Tuesday that the water discharged by China can supply the section of the river in his country until April 29.
The discharge can help reduce the intrusion of saltwater by six to 10 kilometers in several tributaries of the Mekong River, he told VNA.
"Even though the discharge will not completely solve the drought and saline intrusion problems, it will alleviate them," he said.
Related Stories
Vietnam busts transnational fraud ring 2016-04-06 10:29
China, Vietnam ink MOU on judicial cooperation 2016-03-28 11:20
Ground-breaking ceremony held for China-invested thermal power plant project in Vietnam 2016-03-27 23:53
China efforts on drought relief backed by Vietnam 2016-03-23 08:26
Vietnam discussing with other Mekong countries to ensure sustainable use of water 2016-03-17 19:48
Today's Top News
Social media fury after woman claims attack in hotel
Germany rules out debt relief for Greece
Li: Tax reform to boost vitality of real economy
First wave of migrants returned to Turkey
Once-endangered pony makes comeback
Bookshop worms way into community
A fresh start
Bookshops reinvent themselves
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Vis-a-vis visas, Europe plays |
A fresh start |
Bookshops reinvent themselves |
Tech titans talk of men and machines |
Couple on epic wedding trip |
Moments in photos in March |