Beijing Today (September 29, 2006)

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BEIJING TODAY

History on trial in cinema war epic.

A tip of the hat to the Panama Canal.

A frame-by-frame of frame buying.

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Customs ropes in drug ‘mule’

Well water leaves Haidian residents unwell

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29 2006 NO. 278 CN11-0120 HTTP://BJTODAY.YNET.COM

CHIEF EDITOR: JIAN RONG NEWS EDITOR: HOU MINGXIN DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN

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A sage for the ages The Nanjing Municipal government held a ceremony yesterday to mark the 2,557th anniversary of the birth of Confucius. Students and other members of the public took part in poetry recitals. Xinhua Photo

By Qiu Jiaoning More than 500 residents of a community in Xisanqi, Haidian District have been made unwell by water-borne diseases. The 150 affected households have now stopped using tap water supplied by a well dug by members of the community, suspected as having caused the health problems. Many in the community began suffering from diarrhea, fever, and nausea in August. An investigation by Haidian Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that their well had been polluted by underground waste water. Five tankers have been on 24-hour duty supplying the community with clean water. Local authorities are sterilizing water from the well. The Center of Health Inspection and Supervision, an arm of Haidian Health Bureau, told residents that if its water does not meet national quality standards after sterilization, the well will be taken out of service. “All wells dug by towns and communities should be checked by professionals, who are legally obliged to ensure that water supplied to homes is safe for drinking,” said Zheng Yang, from Haidian Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Zheng said that there are 309 community-dug wells in Haidian district, and 181 of them have not been approved to supply drinking water. The government will invest special funds for the refurbishment of these 181 wells. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Self-dug wells in Beijing supply the everyday water needs of many of the city’s residents. Figures from the Beijing Water Authority show that 40,000 such wells in Beijing extract 2.5 billion cubic meters from underground aquifers every year, 75 percent of the city’s total water supply volume. Beijing Center of Health Inspection and Supervision says that most incidents of polluted drinking water involve community-dug wells, usually those without official approval. Dai Yuhua, director of the water resource management department of the Beijing Water Authority, said that the city water supply network will be extended and gradually replace wells as drinking water sources after 2008.

Slim pickings for thin models. Page 7

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