Anhui officials punished over river pollution in demonstration zone

Officials of an agricultural demonstration zone in Anhui province were penalized over a water pollution incident, according to an official statement released on Thursday.

A blogger posted a video online on Wednesday showing that a river in Baishan township, Suixi county, had turned black, with a "suffocating smell similar to pesticides".

In the video, local villagers mentioned that the wastewater was discharged from a nearby factory, rendering the river water unusable for irrigating farmland.

Thursday's statement said that a joint investigation team comprised of officials from the departments of ecology and environment, agriculture and rural affairs, and water resources was formed to verify and address the situation on-site.

The statement confirmed that the issues raised by the video blogger were true. After further review, officials responsible for overseeing the Baishan modern agricultural comprehensive development demonstration zone were suspended from their duties. The investigation is ongoing.

The local government has implemented measures such as building embankments to intercept pollution, pumping back wastewater, clearing silt and implementing environmental restoration efforts while simultaneously intensifying water quality monitoring to minimize the impact.

Based on the investigation results, the local authorities will take strict action against the people responsible for the event in accordance with regulations and laws, according to the statement.

The authorities will also conduct a county-wide inspection to identify and address similar issues, it said.