VietNamNet Bridge – For the past week, thousands of fish died and floated on Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake, causing serious pollution.

Those who pass Hanoi’s most romantic road – Thanh Nien (Youth) road – these days have to hold their noses or their breath because of the bad smell from the lake.

Newly dead fish float to the lake’s shore every morning, disintegrated and give out smell.

Some fished out dead fish to make fertilize or to feed their pigs. A local man said he could collect up to 500kg of dead fish in the morning.

The deaths are reported to have been caused by high levels of pollution in the water, a situation that has happened several times before.

According to the Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, the lake is severely polluted with ammonia and other pollutants.

Nearby residents believe the problem is created by restaurants and some households using the lake as a garbage dump for all their waste.

A committee has been formed to investigate.

This is not the first time this phenomenon happens. In June 2009 and March 2010, fish also died en massive in the lake, causing heavy pollution.

Truc Bach Lake is located northwest of Hanoi's Old Quarter, immediately adjacent to the eastern shore of the city's largest lake, the West Lake, a former branch of the Red River whose west bank is nearby. Truc Bach Lake was separated from the West Lake by the construction of a narrow dike (Co Ngu) in the 17th century to allow raising fish. In 1957 and 1958, major Thanh Nien Road was built between the lakes.

The lake front is open only along Thanh Nien Road, the other sides are occupied by houses and residential streets. The lake is among the most seriously polluted in Hanoi. Nearby historical sites include: Quan Thanh Temple to the southwest of the lake, Chau Long Pagoda to the east, An Tri Temple on Pho Duc Chinh Street, and Cau Nhi temple on a small hill near the northern corner of the lake.

Thu Hang