The authorities claim there is no danger of pollution. The carcasses were recovered in the Huangpu River. Originally from Zhejiang province. Residents complain that the local government is about actual extent of environmental damage.

Shanghai (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Shanghai authorities have removed 1200 carcasses of pigs from the Huangpu River, including adult specimens of several hundred pounds. The news has sparked controversy among the inhabitants of the most important industrial city of China, who have urged the authorities to verify the level of pollution in the water and causes of death of the animals. Until now, the government in Shanghai has claimed that the river is not polluted and there is no danger for residents.

Shanghai resident Wanqing Liu told the China Daily: "How can the water be safe with hundreds of carcasses floating about? The government should conduct a more thorough investigation and provide drinking water to the population."

According to preliminary investigations, the pigs were thrown into the river by some farmers in Zhejiang Province south of Shanghai, after an unspecified disease found in animals. The first dead pigs were spotted in the river on March 7.

The pollution of rivers, sometimes with serious consequences for health, it is a plague in China, where respect for the environment is often sacrificed on the altar of economic growth. On 18 February, a rich businessman from the eastern province of Zhejiang offered 200 thousand Yuan (almost 25 thousand euro) to a senior official of the local Communist Party to swim for 20 minutes in the toxic river town of Ruian.

Pollution, along with the corruption remains a major problem for the Chinese Communist Party.

Policies launched in the past decade by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have not been successful in limiting the phenomenon, which threatens the health of the population and the environmental situation. In fact, the government wants to maintain the pace of economic growth in recent years, but it can not stop the industrial overproduction, a leading cause excessive pollution. The new leader Xi Jinping - who takes office during this session of the NPA - has repeatedly acknowledged the problem but has not yet announced any strategy in this regard.

 

• china
• shanghai
• pollution
• river
• pigs
• health
• communist
• party