Lanzhou In China Sets Example In Controlling Pollution

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- The industrial city of Lanzhou in China is setting commitment and example in successfully cutting down pollution by implementing strong pollution control measures across the city. According to the Lanzhou Environmental Protection Bureau, the provincial capital has become a ‘model of air quality improvement’, said a statement sent here. Among the measures taken included roping in 10,000 grassroots officials as pollution supervisors in the city. "Every morning, I check the area I am responsible for, to see who is burning what, and whether substandard coal or wood are being used. If I find a problem, I will ask whoever is responsible to stop. If they do not listen to me, I report the matter to the authorities,” said Yang Mingyan, one of the pollution supervisors. According to bureau deputy director Xing Lifeng, polluters in Lanzhou are subject to the full force of the law, where the bureau had even fined a leading state-owned petrochemical enterprise and asked some companies to apologise to citizens. “Some cities are afraid or unable to deal with big companies in environmental protection for fear it will affect their economy, but Lanzhou has no such problem,” he added. Some heavily polluted cities, such as Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou, have sent officials to Lanzhou to study its success, the statement said. --BERNAMA