In southwest China's Chongqing municipality, citizens disturbed by night noises from a construction site or disgusted by smoke exhaust from kitchens can vent their complaints to the city's environmental monitoring departments.

The hotline set up in June in the pollution-plagued city has so far received over 10,000 complaints, 9,400 of which have been resolved, according to an official with the municipal administration of environmental protection.

The official said the hotline is open around the clock and citizens can lodge their complaints at any time on any environmental problem by dialing 12369.

For complaints on noise pollution or accidents causing pollution, the official said, staff members from environmental protection departments can be expected to arrive at the site to solve the problem in 30 minutes.

According to the regulations, hotline operators should deliver non-urgent cases to the responsible office members within eight hours, who must complete the investigation within five days.

The official said the municipal environmental protection administration has also set up a patrol team to monitor possible noise pollution around construction sites at night.

The official said the number of calls to the hotline has plunged to 10 every night from 50 when it was first launched, thanks to the patrol.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2002)