Final checks will be conducted on 405 wells in Henan's
rural areas today, marking the end of a 60-year long wait by some
800,000 rural residents for clean drinking water.
The Henan provincial government funded safe drinking water
projects in 545 villages with 92.1 million yuan (US$ 11.1 million)
earmarked for the first half of 2005.
As at June 28, 405 wells had been dug. Final provincial checks
will be conducted today.
But some more fortunate villagers in Dongzhaozhuang Village in
Jun County have been savoring the joys of clean drinking water on
tap since June 20.
The groundwater that villagers have had to rely on for at least
three generations is heavily polluted. One villager remarked that
they have been wishing and hoping for clean water for the last 60
years. They want nothing more than to be able to welcome a friend
or relative with a glass of clean water.
In April, provincial and local governments invested more than
300,000 yuan (about US$36,247) in a 140-meter-deep-well for the
village.
Much of Henan's watercourses are polluted. The provincial
authorities have invested 240 million yuan (US$29 million) in
recent years to develop clean water supplies to 800 villages in the
Huaihe and Haihe river basins with a total population of
approximately 1.2 million.
According to the Ministry of Water
Resources, one-third of China's rural population still does not
have access to clean drinking water.
(China.org.cn by Li Shen July 7, 2005)