‘We’re listening!’ Government lends an ear to resident concerns

Why is it so hard for parents to find day care for their children? What is being done to prevent the kind of flooding that occurred in some residential communities during typhoon Lekima last summer?

Those and other questions filled a recent “town hall” meeting between Minhang Party Secretary Ni Yaoming and 50 representatives for local residents with public concerns to air.

Topics covered during what was scheduled as a one-hour session included the environment, education, medical care, housing rehabilitation and resettlement programs, food safety and transportation. The discussion was so compelling that it was extended an extra hour.

Child and elderly care

Child care and early childhood development was a major concern. Minhang is experiencing a major population influx of people with children under 3 years of age. More than 60,000 have moved into the district. The relatively new two-child policy is also exacerbating the frustration of working parents seeking day-care places for their children.

Ni said that by the end of this year, each town in the district will have at least one professional day-care center, and existing kindergartens will also be asked to provide at least one class for younger children.

Currently, there are about 147 classes in 81 kindergartens serving that purpose. Non-profit institutions are also being encouraged to enter the field.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Ni said the district is seeking to make nursing homes more flexible. Particularly, he said he wants them to open their facilities, at least partially, to non-resident seniors.

For example, a nursing home has a dining room and activity areas designed for the elderly. Local senior citizens not living in the homes could be given access to those facilities during certain periods of the day.

Projects to provide more meal options for the elderly will carry on, Ni said. They are targeted at people who live alone or are too frail to move around.

Renovation in old neighborhoods also figured prominently in the program discussion.

The district currently has about 720,000 square meters of dilapidated structures in need of razing or rehabilitation, with 12,000 households affected. Many are used for “crowd leasing.” The drainage in such old areas floods and big puddles occur during rainfalls.

The government is stepping up efforts to accelerate resettlement of households so that the old structures can be torn down or renovated. The number of old villages remaining in the urban area has declined to 20 from 93, and district authorities are trying to implement fire-safety procedures, housing renovation and better drainage systems.

Old community renovations

Typhoon Lekima caused flooding in 44 residential communities and 41 underpasses. It revealed district’s weaknesses in face of such major storms.

Workers have already starting tackling these problems. Some 34 of 41 underpasses have been upgraded and better drainage systems are being installed.

A contingency plan has been adopted for emergencies when drainage fails during a major storm.

Some resident representatives questioned why a largely disused stretch of railway in the Wujing industrial zone remains when most of the chemical plants it once served have closed. They said it was a local eyesore and safety hazard.

Ni explained that the rails are, in fact, still used by some warehouses, plants and a national granary. The rails are owned by companies and are considered state assets. Decisions about the future of the rails have to be decided at a higher level.

Ni ended the discussion by asking residents to join in efforts to improve their communities and to offer constructive suggestions on how their lives and environment might be improved.