Blame shifting over bad smell from Sikhottabong Park
There has been a bad smell emanating from somewhere in the vicinity of Asean Road near Nakham village for some time now, and it seems to be getting worse.
Passing motorists don't like it and local residents resent it even more, and there seems to be some argument as to who is at fault.
It is getting to the point where motorists feel the urge to wind up their windows and motorcyclists can be seen holding their noses as they drive past, such is the stench sometimes.
People suspect that the smell is emanating from the pond in the middle of Sikhottabong Park, situated on the left on the way to the airport, according to those Vientiane Times reporters spoke with.
One motorist named Mr Thavone Inthasone said that since last month he has had to pass the park every day from Monday to Saturday whilst travelling along Asean Road to work on the construction of a house in Nongsanokham village situated on the same road .
He said at firs t he didn't know where the bad smell in the atmosphere was coming from but thought the odour was coming from full septic tanks at nearby houses because sometimes it smells quite the same as faecal matter.
Last Saturday though, he discovered that the smell was coming from the pond in the park when he bought a Pepsi at a shop on Asean Road, he revealed.
When he noticed the people around him they were holding their breath or rubbing their noses as well, he asked them why.
They told him that nowadays, people who are living within a one or two kilometre radius surrounding the pond are complaining about the smell.
The Sikhottabong Park is located in Nakham village, they said, but now the smell stretches as far as Dongnasok village as well. People complained that they cannot open their windows, especially at night time when the smell is twice as bad, so noxious that it interferes with their sleep.
Vientiane Times reporters investigated and discovered that a lot of people have been asking when Vientiane authorities will resolve the problem for around a year now, as the problem seems to date back to the end of 2011.
According to the Lao Economic Daily newspaper, people have been writing and calling for quite a while, but there doesn't appear to have been any action from the authorities so far, because people are still calling up.
An official at the Vientiane Administration Office, who asked not to be named, told Vientiane Times that the Vientiane authorities reported this matter to the Vientiane Mayor, the Governor of Sikhottabong district and Village Head of Nakham village.
He reported that they are trying to find someone who is willing to clean the pond and inspect the sewerage systems, but they are having difficulties finding anyone to do the job.
The official said that the reek from the pond is due to the fact that residents in Nakham village are discharging untreated wastewater into the pond without detoxifying it, so they bear responsibility for the smell.
However, residents complained that since it opened on November 13, 2010, no one has seen any authorities come to undertake routine maintenance on the park, and it is in fact the poor municipal infrastructure which is to blame.
