Daily Lessons from Life 11 March 2013 - Thousands of dead pigs found floating in Shanghai river

"Thousands of dead pigs found floating in Shanghai river - Monday, Mar 11, 2013 China Daily/Asia News Network
Update: Nearly 3,000 dead pigs have been found floating in Shanghai's main waterway, the Chinese city's government said Monday as residents expressed fears over possible contamination of drinking water.

SHANGHAI - Despite pledges on water safety by Shanghai authorities, public concerns remain after reports that another 300 dead pigs were found floating in the upper Songjiang section of the Huangpu River.

Xu Rong, head of Songjiang district's environment department, told online portal xinmin.cn that on Sunday morning 300 pig carcasses were retrieved by local authorities.

Twelve boats are working to retrieve the carcasses, which will be treated for potential biohazards, Xu said.

Officials from water authorities in Shanghai said the drinking water in the Songjiang area has not been affected and meets safety standards. The water is being closely monitored. Immediate measures will be taken if any emergency is found, officials said.

The Shanghai Agriculture Committee said no reports of animal epidemic outbreaks have been received in the city.

Local residents continued to express concern over the safety of the water.

"Is this water still drinkable after dead pigs were found floating in it?" said 60-year-old Liu Wanqing. "The government has a responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation and provide safe water to residents.""

Another unwelcome 'bad' press for the world most 'increasing prosperous' nation in the world!

Lessons for me are:

1. warning signs are there. Flashing like MAD. Things are not going right. Things that may be long term impact but no short term economic values are been ignored. This is how greater disaster happened! Be warned. Again!;

2. it is a lesson in crisis management too. Are the public announcement and explanation enough to calm the nerve of the citizens who feared that their health and life may be threatened by the 'containmination' of the drinking water by this unusual dead pigs?;

3. while almost 3000 dead pig bodies is small number compared to the more than 10 million population in Shanghai, the source and the reasons for the dead pigs and how they ended up floating in the Huangpu River waterway must be investigated and exposed. Something is simply not right. Especially for Shanghai, one of the most promoted international cities of China.

May there be no ill effect from this episode...

A netizen with the username Liuxijunyan wrote: "Where are these dead pigs from? If so many pigs were thrown into the river there must be something wrong with them. Why were they were thrown away? Maybe they were sick or dead."