New construction costing 6 billion VND soon exposed shortcomings in Hung Nguyen

During the recent flood in mid-September, a large amount of rainwater accumulated at Bara Hung Nghia, causing flooding that took 5 days to drain away. During the flood in October, it took more than a week for the water to drain away.

Mr. Phan Van Cu - Head of Hamlet 16, Hung Thang Commune (Hung Nguyen) said: "When the water came here, it was blocked for several days, unable to drain. The workers of the irrigation company and us, the people, had to dig trenches in the fields next to the sluice to let the water flow, and it took a whole week for the water to drain completely. A huge amount of water rushed in, and the sluice gate was only as small as the sluice gate of a commune, so how could it drain in time?"

Many local people are upset that the newly built bara does not drain as effectively as the old bara, causing water to overflow and drain into the fields. Photo: Phu Huong

Present at the Bara Hung Nghia culvert, Mr. Phan Van Duong in hamlet 16 of Hung Thang commune said: "The newly built culvert is not as reasonable as the old one which was built more than 40 years ago. The culvert gate is small and too low compared to the water level. It is okay for irrigation but very difficult for drainage, especially during times of heavy rain and floods, when the amount of water flowing in is large and concentrated like recently."

The project to build a new culvert in Bara Hung Nghia, Hung Thang commune, invested by the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district, was built in early 2018 with a total capital of 6 billion VND. Even during the recent floods, the early operation process revealed many shortcomings.

Due to the recent consecutive floods, this sluice gate cannot quickly drain the concentrated amount of water. Photo: Phu Huong

The Bara sluice's aperture is too narrow compared to the total water flow needed to drain all 6 communes in the middle of Hung Nguyen district, namely Hung Thong, Hung Thang, Hung Tien, Hung Chau, Hung Long, Hung Linh and 2 communes of Nam Linh and Nam Cat of Nam Dan district; the mechanical equipment for operation is not suitable, so it is not effective.

Mr. Le Van Hung - Director of Hung Nguyen Irrigation Enterprise said: This project was built to replace the old Bara sluice which has seriously degraded. This is the first year of operation for irrigation but has not yet been accepted and handed over.

The stairs leading to the floor where the machine is installed are made vertically of thin steel pipes, which is very dangerous for the operator. Photo: Phu Huong

During the floods in mid-September and October, the company had to mobilize dozens of workers along with local forces to operate the sewer, but it was very difficult to pull the sewer door up. The reason was that the door had no wheels to reduce friction, and no electric motor, so it was very heavy to operate up and down manually.

In particular, due to the unreasonable design, the door can only be pulled up a short distance, so the drainage capacity is not high. The stairs to the floor where the machine is placed are made of thin steel pipes, which is very dangerous for the operator.