"Sand bandits" openly dredge Hieu River
(Baonghean.vn) - Many sand suction machines are placed on the riverbed, dredging the Hieu River day and night, causing serious erosion. The following images were taken on the afternoon of April 14.
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| Recently, in Nghia Dan district, illegal sand mining has become a problem. Especially on the Hieu River section through Nghia Thinh commune. Some sand suction machines even operate openly. In the photo is a sand suction machine placed on the riverbed, viewed from the Hieu River spillway, where National Highway 48E runs through. |
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| At some points, they even used rocks and soil to block the river so that trucks could easily drive to the middle of the river to carry sand. Many sections of the river were therefore as bumpy as a construction site, and the local people's fields were also destroyed by sand trucks. |
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| Instead of using boats like other places, "sand bandits" here use machines to suck sand directly from the riverbed and then dump it into trucks. "Every day, they only need 2 workers but they can mine hundreds of cubic meters," said an anonymous resident. |
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| A sand suction machine is placed on the riverbed, behind which is the serious erosion on the banks of the Hieu River caused by this problem. According to the reporter's records, every 500 meters along the river flowing through this section, there is a sand suction machine. When seeing strangers, the machine owners quickly run away, or deny any involvement. |
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Mr. Vo Dinh An - Secretary of the Party Committee of Nghia Thinh commune said that the authorities have also raided many times but are still helpless in the face of this situation. "Because of the regulations, sand suction machines can only be temporarily detained but not confiscated. Therefore, after each arrest, people bring money to pay the fine and then continue to exploit", Mr. An said and said that since the beginning of the year, the authorities have seized 3 suction machines, each case fined 2 million VND. With such a fine, it only takes less than a day of illegal sand suction for "people" to have enough money to pay the fine. |
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| Trucks carry sand from the river. |
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Meanwhile, not far from this area, many households in Hamlet 1 (Nghia Thinh Commune) are living in anxiety because of the landslides that have occurred over the past many years. “In just the past 2 years, the riverbed has eaten into my garden by 8 meters. Every time it rains, I am very worried because the “death” holes in the garden keep appearing, dragging the soil down the river,” said Ms. Le Thi Luan (46 years old). Faced with this situation, the Nghia Thinh Commune authorities have had to arrange the site and come up with a plan to relocate these households. In the photo is the jackfruit and bamboo garden of Ms. Luan’s family that has been washed down the riverbank. |
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