Beijing

Water 'not contaminated'

Sichuan's drinking water supply was not contaminated by a chemical leak caused by the earthquake, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said yesterday.

It dismissed a rumor claiming the main water source to Chengdu, the provincial capital, had been polluted by hazardous materials from chemical plants in Dujiangyan.

Eighty tons of liquid ammonia did leak from a plant in Deyang, but it was swiftly dealt with and the local water quality has not been affected, the ministry said.

Stable supply of pork to HK

Urgent measures have been taken to ensure a stable supply of pork to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said yesterday.

To make up for the decrease in supply from the quake-hit Sichuan province, the administration after holding talks with the Ministry of Commerce, acquired for Hong Kong a monthly supply of 400-500 tons each from Hebei, Guangdong, Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces.

Huge parcel of relief

A total of 127,580 tents, 220,000 cotton quilts, and 170,000 items of clothing have been sent to the earthquake-stricken areas, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday. A total of 603 million yuan ($86 million) in cash and materials had also been sent to the areas.

Irrigation system intact

The safety of the world's oldest operating irrigation system was not compromised by Monday's quake, though the system sustained minor damage, the Ministry of Water Resources said yesterday.

The quake caused cracks in the V-shaped dike of the Dujiangyan project, which is more than 2,000 years old. A sluice control room and a standby power generator room suffered minor damage, it said.

Safety pamphlets on way

The first 20, 000 pamphlets on self-protection during an earthquake and its aftermath will be soon be sent to the quake-stricken areas, the General Administration of Press and Publication said yesterday.

The pamphlets, written in simple words, instructs people how to escape from a quake, search for victims, and prevent various post-quake diseases.

Aircraft monitor distruction

Five aircraft have been sent to Chengdu to photograph the geological conditions of the quake-hit areas, the Ministry of Land and Resources said yesterday.

One of the planes, carrying three experts, flew to Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake, yesterday. It will collect relevant data for analysis in Beijing. The data will be used for post-quake reconstruction.

Bank lends a hand

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced yesterday it had provided 5.5 billion yuan ($785.86 million) in financing to areas of Sichuan and Gansu provinces hardest hit by Monday's earthquake.

Sichuan received 3.3 billion yuan and Gansu, 2.2 billion yuan to support disaster relief and reconstruction.

Center's pandas safe

Two giant pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, expected to be sent to Taiwan, are "safe and sound", a spokesman with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said yesterday.

All 86 pandas raised at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, including the two to be sent to Taiwan, have been moved to a more spacious and safer place following the earthquake, Xiong Beirong, an official with the forestry department of Sichuan province, said.

Chongqing

Rumor mongers held

Police in Chongqing municipality said yesterday two people had been detained for spreading quake rumors.

The two, one surnamed Jin from Yuzhong district of Chongqing municipality and the other surnamed Tang from Wuxi county in Chongqing, were detained on Tuesday, the Chongqing public security bureau said at a news briefing.

Jin on Monday posted a picture of a department store building on an Internet forum and claimed its top had collapsed. Police found the picture to be a fake.

Jin was ordered to apologize to netizens.

Tang also posted a picture about an escape by many people in Sichuan on an Internet forum on Tuesday. But police found the people were in fact getting ready to welcome the Olympic flame.

Chengdu

Schools start to reopen

Some primary and middle schools in Chengdu, Sichuan province resumed classes yesterday.

An official with the Chengdu city government said schools were allowed to resume classes after making sure that their buildings were safe.

The Chengdu Guanghua Primary School underwent a check by inspectors on Tuesday before resuming classes, a school executive said.

The Sichuan Normal University Experimental Foreign Language School also opened again after students were instructed on how to respond to earthquakes, its president, Xiong Daxian, said.

Gansu

Train blaze extinguished

The fire on a train carrying gasoline that was derailed by Monday's earthquake was finally put out yesterday morning, the rail ministry said.

The 40-car freight train, including 12 gasoline tankers, was derailed inside a tunnel on the Baoji-Chengdu line in Huixian county, Gansu province.

The fire had been burning for about 40 hours before it was put out at 6 am yesterday, the ministry said

The Baoji-Chengdu railway remains closed.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 05/15/2008 page5)