Highway 'beauty' walls flayed
By Leeann Li |
December 4, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A poverty-stricken county in northwest China has begun building screen walls alongside a highway section in a bid to camouflage the "shabby" surroundings and provide a prettier view. The move has predictably sparked a controversy.
Authorities in Zhangxian County, Gansu Province, began building the brick walls this October to hide the so-called shabby houses situated near a section of the G212 Highway linking the provincial capital Lanzhou and southwest China's Chongqing City.
The 2-meter-high walls, with glazed roof tiles, stretch over more than 5 kilometers, the People's Daily website reported yesterday.
But the construction has triggered an outcry as residents argue that the walls occupy the sidewalk which has been narrowed to make room for the busy highway. Since heavy-loaded trucks are always passing by, local villagers feel unsafe.
More than 80 households, including 100 schoolchildren, live near the highway in Dongqiao Village. "Even adults find it hard to dodge the vehicles, not to say kids," a villager said.
Local villagers also said the money spent on the walls could have been used to upgrade their homes. "The walls do not benefit us at all and they are useless," said another villager.
The Yihuqiao Township director Gong Zhiqiang said the construction was part of a campaign, initiated by the province, to beautify rural areas. By 2020, all of the farmers' houses will be renovated, he added.
He said the government had launched a public bidding to raise money, but wouldn't reveal the total cost.
Authorities in Zhangxian County, Gansu Province, began building the brick walls this October to hide the so-called shabby houses situated near a section of the G212 Highway linking the provincial capital Lanzhou and southwest China's Chongqing City.
The 2-meter-high walls, with glazed roof tiles, stretch over more than 5 kilometers, the People's Daily website reported yesterday.
But the construction has triggered an outcry as residents argue that the walls occupy the sidewalk which has been narrowed to make room for the busy highway. Since heavy-loaded trucks are always passing by, local villagers feel unsafe.
More than 80 households, including 100 schoolchildren, live near the highway in Dongqiao Village. "Even adults find it hard to dodge the vehicles, not to say kids," a villager said.
Local villagers also said the money spent on the walls could have been used to upgrade their homes. "The walls do not benefit us at all and they are useless," said another villager.
The Yihuqiao Township director Gong Zhiqiang said the construction was part of a campaign, initiated by the province, to beautify rural areas. By 2020, all of the farmers' houses will be renovated, he added.
He said the government had launched a public bidding to raise money, but wouldn't reveal the total cost.
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