Party chief 'sorry' for water cutoff

CHENGDU: The Party chief of Ya'an, Sichuan province, made a public apology on Friday, after 130,000 of the city's residents were left struggling to find clean drinking water due to pollution of the Qingyi River.

In a statement published on the local government's website, Party chief Xu Mengjia promised the water supply, which had to be turned off on Wednesday, would be restored on Saturday.

The problem began when water discharged from the Tongtou and Yucheng hydropower stations, which were being serviced in the upper reaches of the river, caused large amounts of mud and sand to be forced into the Ya'an section, Xu said.