Columns of smoke in the heart of the capital

The grey smoke from a textile factory in Hanoi has attracted public attention. The factory was supposed to be relocated more than 10 years ago but still exists in a densely populated residential area.

Smoke column of Hanoi Industrial Textile Joint Stock Company (No. 91 - 93 Linh Nam Street, Mai Dong Ward) was filmed by people in March 2025 - Photo: Contributor

Recently, people called for help on social networks, denouncing this column of smoke as the main "culprit" causing the burning smell and spreading dust throughout the streets.

Every time they are "attacked" by dust, people report it to the ward, but still have to live with the dust, which covers every apartment and every window.

It is worth mentioning that the relocation policy has been in place for more than 10 years, but why has the factory not been relocated out of the inner city? Next to the factory is a large residential area. Hundreds of thousands of people live in the two districts of Hoang Mai and Hai Ba Trung. For many years, they have had to endure the suffocating, oppressive atmosphere of the poisoned air.

Surely many people cannot forget the sound of the fire truck siren blaring at dusk on August 28, 2019, rushing to the Rang Dong Light Bulb and Thermos Flask Joint Stock Company in Thanh Xuan District to put out the fire. After the fire, the company suffered hundreds of billions of dong in damage.

But what is more worrying is that about 15.1 - 27.2 kg of mercury has been released into the environment and must be detoxified. This company is not on the list of factories to be relocated out of the city center before 2020, but after the fire, it should have been a wake-up call for other factories.

Currently, not only the smoke column is in the center but also in the suburban districts of Hanoi such as Dan Phuong or Hoai Duc, "smoke" is appearing that is not strictly controlled.

Hanoi still has about 1,300 craft villages, many of which still discharge waste into the environment. To keep the air clean, in addition to controlling the source of waste, we must quickly and decisively remove all chimneys of polluting factories and plants from the inner city.

According to information from the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, after receiving comments from the city's leaders, this unit, together with the People's Committee of Hoang Mai district and relevant agencies, inspected Hanoi Industrial Textile Joint Stock Company (No. 91 - 93 Linh Nam Street, Mai Dong Ward).

The good news is that after this inspection, the textile company will have to stop operations and move out of the inner city as planned. In the immediate future, from now until August 2025, the entire polluting factory must be moved out of the residential area.

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