Hundreds of people on Saturday gathered to see the Dragon Boat Racing Festival held along Ben Nghe and Tau Hu Canal in Ho Chi Minh City, which used to be seriously polluted.
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The canal has been cleaned up thanks to support from Japanese government, who has granted Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam to support improvement of local polluted canals and rivers.
The festival, organized by HCM City Management Board of Urban Traffic Project Construction, attracted 500 people from 25 boat teams from city districts and five Vietnam-Japan friendship teams.
Through this festival, HCMC authorities call on local people to be more responsible in protecting environment and keeping the canal clean.