The northern mountainous province of Son La is striving to provide clean water to 80 percent of the rural population by the end of this year.

Under the province’s plan, at least 28 percent of them will have access to water that meets national standards for quality.

People in remote areas used to use water from rivers, springs and even collected rain water for daily activities, which became a major reason for diseases and poisoning.

To improve locals’ living standards and stop them using unhygienic water, the province has built a number of inter-village water supply stations, benefiting thousands of people.

However, the progress of some projects remains slow, affecting the supply of water to other households. Therefore, the provincial centre for clean water and rural environmental hygiene has hastened contractors to speed up the construction of these works.

It has regularly checked the water quality and sent staff to fix errors and improve water supply systems.-VNA