Efforts to revive To Lich River

At 8:30 a.m. on March 19, at Buoi Street, To Lich River bank, from Dich Vong Bridge to Cau Giay, dozens of sludge suction trucks and sludge transport vehicles were at the assembly location. Many excavators were ready to operate under the To Lich River. Workers also prepared their protective gear and quickly started their new shift.

The large concentration of forces and vehicles to dredge To Lich River has attracted the attention of the people. Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, who travels through the route every day, said that regardless of rainy or cold days, the working spirit of the workers is always very urgent and serious. The people are very happy and support the dredging of sludge, contributing to improving the environment of To Lich River. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai, who has a private house on Quan Hoa Street, informed that dredging the riverbed is often carried out before the rainy season, but mainly in areas where waste is stagnant, so the efficiency is not high.

After a short time, the garbage piled up again, quickly blocking the flow. This time, the riverbed was dredged deeply, in a rolling manner from upstream to downstream. The amount of mud and garbage dredged was very large, so it was hoped that the riverbed would be clear, the flow would drain quickly, contributing to reducing pollution for people living near the river. Not only mud, there was also a lot of garbage under the riverbed, especially plastic bags, clothes, motorbike and car tires, etc., which were also collected by workers and transported to the designated treatment site.

According to the representative of the Mechanical Construction and Installation Enterprise of the Hanoi Drainage Company, the unit directly carrying out the dredging of the To Lich River, from mid-February until now, the unit has mobilized four mechanical dredging lines with more than 70 workers and 17 mud suction trucks. The overall dredging of the To Lich River is carried out day and night; the day shift works from 9am to 4pm and the night shift works from 8pm to 3am the next morning. The dredging of waste mud is carried out from the upper reaches of the To Lich River. It is expected that in March, the unit will complete dredging the river, the section from Hoang Quoc Viet to Buoi streets with a length of about 2,600m, the total amount of waste mud is expected to be about 22,000 m3. From April, the dredging work will continue to Khuong Dinh bridge.

A representative of the Hanoi Drainage Company said that, according to the city's request, the progress of dredging sludge and cleaning the To Lich River will be basically completed before August 2025. According to the company's Deputy General Director Trinh Ngoc Son, despite the large volume of work and the urgent time, the company is committed to completing the dredging of the river to ensure progress and quality before the rainy season with the required volume of about 50,000 m3 of sludge.

According to our research, the dredging of To Lich River sludge is not only to clear the flow but also an important preparation step for larger projects in reviving To Lich River. Cleaning the riverbed will create conditions for the addition of Red River water to help dilute, wash away and improve the water quality of To Lich River.

This is part of Hanoi's overall plan to thoroughly resolve the pollution of the To Lich River. Along with dredging sludge, the Hanoi City Management Board of Investment and Construction of Technical Infrastructure and Agriculture Projects is also implementing the construction of connecting discharge outlets to the underground sewer system running along both sides of the river to bring wastewater to the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant, in order to thoroughly treat the source of pollution. These solutions are expected to contribute to improving the environment of the To Lich River, enhancing the environmental quality of the capital.