Well-known names in several fields came together on Saturday to clean the
bank of the Tuul river near Ikh Tenger as part of the program “Water from the
Tuul is not for drinking”, being run jointly by the newspaper Onoodor and “B”
TV for about two months now.  The “cleaners” included MPs E.Bat-Uul,
S.Byambatsogt, D.Odbayar, and G.Bayarsaikhan, human rights lawyer M.Ichinnorov,
actor L.Battulga and Head of the Hip Hop Union Sh.Batbayar (Baavar).

Lauding the project’s
goal, Bat-Uul recalled the general cleanliness all around when he was young and
suggested organizing competitions among school students to keep selected areas
clean. He said he found it embarrassing that foreign organizations some times
arrange a program of cleaning garbage in Ulaanbaatar, while local residents
think nothing of littering everywhere.

Ichinnorov was happy the state of the Tuul was drawing people’s attention. The
river was drying up and this could seriously affect the supply of drinking water in
Ulaanbaatar.

Odbayar said the project would be a success only if it could attract citizens’
participation and not just special appearances by celebrities.

Actor Battulga recalled how the river used to be fuller in his childhood and
hoped the Tuul would not go the way of the Dund which has totally dried up. He
appealed to everybody to stop polluting and contaminating the river in any way.