Residents' lives blighted by 'trash bombs'
By Xu Chi |
July 13, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FOR more than 10 years, residents in an old complex on downtown Changshou Road have had to step out of their homes onto narrow slabs to avoid piles of rubbish and sewage at their feet.
Strewn at the entrance of their apartments are bags of trash thrown down by residents in the seven-story buildings, while excrement pours out of broken pipelines from illegally built toilets.
"It's a paradise for mosquitoes and flies in summer, while in winter it becomes a skating rink - miss one step and you kiss the trash and the filth," said a 42-year-old male resident surnamed Wu.
The complex in Jing'an District is one of hundreds of old buildings in Shanghai where "trash bombs" from above are a headache for residents and neighborhood officials.
Householders complained to Shanghai Daily that they are plagued by a stench, made worse by the summer weather, and are "bombarded" by trash from above. Now they fear the environment may expose them to health problems.
However, law enforcement officials have difficulties identifying the litterbugs.
Wu said many residents dare not stand near the buildings and look up when rushing in and out, due to the frequent trash bombs.
Plans to fit residential areas with surveillance cameras have been stymied by a lack of funds.
A government official, surnamed Gu, said most apartments in the complex were rented to migrant workers, and often several families share one apartment.
Gu said they illegally built toilets in divided rooms and used pipelines to deposit sewage outside. But often the pipes were too short.
Meishan Neighborhood Committee officials in charge of the complex said they are trying to organize volunteer groups to clean up the area.
Strewn at the entrance of their apartments are bags of trash thrown down by residents in the seven-story buildings, while excrement pours out of broken pipelines from illegally built toilets.
"It's a paradise for mosquitoes and flies in summer, while in winter it becomes a skating rink - miss one step and you kiss the trash and the filth," said a 42-year-old male resident surnamed Wu.
The complex in Jing'an District is one of hundreds of old buildings in Shanghai where "trash bombs" from above are a headache for residents and neighborhood officials.
Householders complained to Shanghai Daily that they are plagued by a stench, made worse by the summer weather, and are "bombarded" by trash from above. Now they fear the environment may expose them to health problems.
However, law enforcement officials have difficulties identifying the litterbugs.
Wu said many residents dare not stand near the buildings and look up when rushing in and out, due to the frequent trash bombs.
Plans to fit residential areas with surveillance cameras have been stymied by a lack of funds.
A government official, surnamed Gu, said most apartments in the complex were rented to migrant workers, and often several families share one apartment.
Gu said they illegally built toilets in divided rooms and used pipelines to deposit sewage outside. But often the pipes were too short.
Meishan Neighborhood Committee officials in charge of the complex said they are trying to organize volunteer groups to clean up the area.
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