By Kh.KHALIUN

“There are rumors that between two and three people die every week from cancer in Khongor Sum due to soil contamination. You must go to Khongor Sum,” President Ts.Elbegdorj told to D.Khayakhyarvaa, when meeting with selected Ministers on January 18. If this is true, it means an average of 96 people die every year from soil contamination. The incoming Minister of Health S.Lambaa, State Great Khural Member D.Khayankhyarvaa, and the administration of Khongor Sum have now proved that this information is false.

To check the accuracy of the President’s claims, representatives of various media outlets paid a visit to Khongor Sum. The Governor of the Province told them, “It’s absolutely false that upwards of three people are dying every week. We have been monitoring this for some time now. Test of the soil and water are completed every Spring. I don’t know who is spreading this information nor for what reason. The population of Khongor Sum has actually increased over the last few years. To set the record straight, I have made the population statistics public.”
According to the statistics, the population of Khongor Sum was 5,404 in 2006 and 5,856 in 2011. There were 104 children born in 2006, 134 in 2007, 140 in 2008, 156 in 2010, and 149 children in 2011. 35 people died in 2006, which represents 0.6 percent of the total population. This number was 0.7 percent in 2007, 0.8 percent in 2008, 0.7 in 2009, 0.7 in 2010, and remained at 0.7 percent in 2011. The population of Khongor Sum has increased by 452 citizens since 2006.
Most of the residents of the Khongor Sum live by trading their vegetables and cow’s milk. After the information that the toxic substance spread in the territories surrounding Khongor Sum, the income of residents dropped dramatically. The Governor of the sum claimed that some investments have been postponed or stopped indefinitely. The spread of false information is hurting the citizens of Khongor Sum and if it continues, it will continue to create agricultural losses for citizens.