'Sand bandits' in mountainous district of Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Illegal sand mining in Que Phong district is taking place openly, causing loss of resources, affecting production land and road constructions, making people angry. Recorded by Nghe An Newspaper reporter at the sand wharf near Kim Son town on the afternoon of September 26.
| Illegal sand mining activities in Que Phong were recorded on the afternoon of September 26. |
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| On the Nam Giai River, the section flowing through the Kim Son Town Water Plant (Kim Son Town, Que Phong District), there are currently two illegal sand and gravel mining docks operating. Sand and gravel are pumped directly from the riverbed or excavated by excavators. Sand mining activities here take place as if in a deserted place. |
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| On the afternoon of September 26, at the sand wharf near the Water Plant, about 500m from Kim Son town, an excavator scooped buckets of sand from the riverbank and dumped them onto a parked truck. In less than 5 minutes, the truck was filled with sand and left. At this time, another truck was waiting on Provincial Road 543, ready to continue taking sand. |
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| After the sand was scooped up, the trucks followed the small road between the residential area and then down Provincial Road 543 to dump it at a construction site in the center of Kim Son town. Just like that, the trucks moved continuously without stopping. |
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| The sound of the machines and their roars echoed throughout the river. Some of the sand was transported directly to the construction site, while the rest was gathered at material yards around Kim Son town, waiting to be sold. |
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| Illegal sand mining in Que Phong has been going on for many years, typically at two sand docks located near the clean water plant (Kim Son town), or sand docks in Chau Thon commune, Cam Muon commune... These sand docks even arbitrarily opened roads connecting directly to the provincial road straight down to the river bank to conveniently get sand, causing traffic insecurity. |
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| According to Mr. Vi Van Nga (a resident of Muong Noc commune): "This wharf has been operating for quite a long time, almost every day you can hear the sound of machines working on the river." In the photo, sand is transported from the river and dumped directly at the foot of the construction site in the center of Kim Son town. |
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| Contacting directly with Mr. Lu Van Tien - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Que Phong district, we learned that in Que Phong district, no organization or individual has been licensed to exploit sand and gravel. Immediately after receiving the reporter's reflection on the sand exploitation activities taking place on the Nam Giai river, the Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said, "will let the brothers check and handle it". |
