TV show raises stink over illegal rubbish dump after Chinese villagers’ complaints ignored for years
Local officials spurred into action when environmental blight exposed by national broadcaster
Residents in one community in southwestern China had complained for years about the fetid illegal dumping ground blighting their village but it took a report on prime-time television to spur the authorities to do something about it.
Legions of clean-up workers and equipment materialised in the village in Shuangliu district in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on the weekend after China Central Television’s report on Friday night about a 66,700 square metre pond that had been transformed into a rubbish tip.
Construction and household waste had been dumped at the site for years, with the rubbish piled five metres high on one bank, the report said.
The waste not only created a stink in summer but became a breeding ground for massive swarms of mosquitoes.
Despite repeated complaints over the years, no action was taken to remedy the situation, the report said.