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I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:59 am
by Soi Dog
Just seeing a photo of people standing chest-deep in that god-forsaken, putrid canal is enough to make me ill. Get a drop of that in your eye or mouth and you'll wish you were never born. Great to see some people trying to clean up their neighborhood, though.
PPP wrote:Well, somebody’s gotta do it
Fri, 12 September 2014
Phak Seangly
About 90 locals living along a fetid canal completed a four-day voluntary cleanup yesterday aimed at improving drainage, three years after they were allegedly ordered to vacate the area because their household trash was choking the waterway and exacerbating flooding.
The locals – who belong to eight communities comprising 540 families living along the nearly 1.5-kilometre canal – gathered in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune yesterday bearing banners promising to stop dumping trash in the canal, which reeks of sewage, and espousing their desire to “develop this place”.
Community leader Phou Kun, 52, said locals had initiated three such cleanups since 2013, cooperating with NGOs and local authorities. Villagers, he said, had dredged tonnes of debris from the tunnel for each of the past four days.
Local Chan Seakheng, 31, said municipal authorities had offered them two choices.
“First, [move] to a new location, and second, develop this place. But all the villagers want the second choice, to develop this place, because we have schools, markets, and this [area] is in the city,” she said.
Nov Chansokha, 52, one of three women to brave the stinking, black, chest-high water, said that while she had grown accustomed to the smell, the water could still cause some itching at first. But she would “endure it and be patient”, she added.
“We’re clearing the rubbish in order to help the environment and to avoid flooding in Phnom Penh, and so we’re not blamed for living here,” she said.
District administration officer Long Nhet said authorities had never received an eviction letter, but still welcomed the effort to “make the environment cleaner together”.
And while the city had never initiated eviction measures, the villagers nevertheless wanted to “proactively respond to the public accusation that the people of [Stung] Meanchey caused big flooding in the city in 2013,” said Savoeurn Sou of Equitable Cambodia, an NGO that aided in the cleanup.
They agreed “to clean the canal by themselves to prove to the public and the authorities that they are not the people who caused the problem but they are the ones to be part of the solution”, he said.
http://phnompenhpost.com/national/well- ... otta-do-it
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 8:31 am
by Sir_Quality_U_Feel
I shared this story on my facebook page yesterday. It is. pretty disgusting.
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:40 am
by Milord
Why are they wearing rubber gloves, when they're bodies are submerged ? Safety ?
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:54 am
by Soi Dog
I think I would have at least started the cleanup on the canal banks instead of plunging in.
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 4:49 am
by Mr Curious
boat...rakes...small nets on stick.
it will be interesting to see if they REALLY GET IT, and stop DUMPING crap out the window. This is all a HUGE DUH moment. Pre plastic did they litter everywhere this badly? Granted it would break down, but still, have they NEVER considered keeping their area clean? Even a dog won't shit where it sleeps.
perhaps it's their way of saying I have money. look at the wrappers of things I bought? I wonder if I could get an NGO grant to study this angle?
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:50 am
by Sir_Quality_U_Feel
Pre plastic a lot of shit was organic or just metal. Interesting question. I couldn't imagine that 80 years ago people littered badly anywhere in the world.
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:56 pm
by giblet
I wonder if there are some sort of microbes or bacteria or something that they can import to clean that water up? (Can you tell I don't have a science degree?) If they can make sewage into drinking water, they should be able to turn that canal water-color, at least.
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:04 pm
by Sir_Quality_U_Feel
giblet wrote:I wonder if there are some sort of microbes or bacteria or something that they can import to clean that water up? (Can you tell I don't have a science degree?) If they can make sewage into drinking water, they should be able to turn that canal water-color, at least.
They make sewage into drinking water by way of big water treatment factories with very expensive machines. Dunno if it is a simple process. Water treatment.
Man vs Wild Phnom Penh
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 2:54 pm
by StroppyChops
giblet wrote:I wonder if there are some sort of microbes or bacteria or something that they can import to clean that water up? (Can you tell I don't have a science degree?) If they can make sewage into drinking water, they should be able to turn that canal water-color, at least.
I do have a science degree but know nothing of this field either - but I'm willing to bet you could extract a crude diesel from that sludge.
Re: I applaud the effort, but........
Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:23 am
by Milord
giblet wrote:I wonder if there are some sort of microbes or bacteria or something that they can import to clean that water up? (Can you tell I don't have a science degree?) If they can make sewage into drinking water, they should be able to turn that canal water-color, at least.
If there is no current, Alum can be used, plus chlorine.