Bleak New Year for millions

2008-02-05 21:05

Kaili - Millions of Chinese are likely to spend the biggest holiday of the year without power and water after more than a week of wild winter weather that shut down transport links across large parts of the country.

The freezing weather in the run-up to the Lunar New Year break, which begins on Wednesday and offers the only chance for many poor migrant workers to visit loved ones, has killed scores of people.

Railways and highways were returning to normal across China on Tuesday but millions were still trying to catch trains, planes and buses to see family in what is normally one of the greatest annual migrations of humanity.

Millions more have given up making the journey home.

In the southwestern province of Yunnan, four teenagers were found dead after going missing in a snowstorm near the Myanmar border, the official Xinhua news agency said. But, soldiers found three other members of the same party alive.

Whole cities have had their power and water cut off for more than a week and so far 11 electricians have been killed trying to reconnect lines or break ice encasing poles and cables.

Diesel-fired generators

Chenzhou, a city of about four million in the central province of Hunan, began its 11th day without power on Tuesday, with people lining up at fire hydrants with buckets to get water.

The State Electricity Regulatory Commission said it intended to restore power to 80% of affected households in the next few days.

Supply to the rest of the families would be resumed by tapping about 2  700 diesel-fired generating vehicles.

Kaili, with a population of half a million in the subtropical southern province of Guizhou, was cut off for several days by thick ice and hail.

On the road from the provincial capital Guiyang, many areas were still covered in thick ice with pine trees wilting or broken under the weight.

Television showed downed power lines and towers.

Kaili and other larger county capitals are receiving electricity, but officials and locals say many villagers in the countryside remain without power and there could be many days if not weeks before it is restored.

Prices rocketing

Engineer Zhang Xuejiang said: "The situation has been improving with all the outside assistance, but fixing supplies to smaller towns and villages will take a long time."

For many, however, the biggest headache is rocketing prices with pork, rice, vegetables and other staples doubling in price, or going even higher.

Army and civilian trucks are bringing in diesel generators and boxes of blankets and food.

Japan said on Tuesday it would give 57 million yen ($533,800) worth of emergency aid, including blankets and power generators, according to the foreign ministry.

3.5 million on trains

At noon on Tuesday, service at two railway stations in the southern city of Guangzhou was back to normal after 11 days of chaos, according to the Guangzhou Railway Group Corporation.

"About 3.5 million people left the province by train by Tuesday noon.

"Basically, all the passengers who held tickets, but had been stranded at different railway stations have left," said a spokesperson quoted by Xinhua.

About 350 000 train passengers left Beijing on Monday, 20 000 more than on Sunday, according to a spokesman with the Beijing Railway Bureau.

- Reuters