The communal government was held accountable for allowing the 'sand bandits' to take place.

November 5, 2021,Thanh Chuong District People's Committeehas Document No. 2594/UBND-TNMT on "Criticism for continuously allowing sand and gravel mining activities to occur, as reported by the press" sent to Dai Dong Commune People's Committee.

Illegal sand mining ship on Lam River, Dai Dong commune on the morning of November 1, 2021. Photo: NPV

Document No. 2594/UBND-TNMT clearly stated: “On November 4, 2021, Nghe An Newspaper published an article “Blatantly "gutting" Lam River” reflecting the situation of sand mining along Lam River through Dai Dong and Thanh Tien communes, sand mining activities are taking place continuously.

To rectify the management of mineral resources, the District People's Committee criticized the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dai Dong commune, whose responsibility as the local leader in the past time has been to continuously allow mineral exploitation activities to occur without permission from competent authorities (which have been detected and handled by the District Police, and reported by the press).

Two ships illegally mining sand on Lam River, Dai Dong commune at 9:30 a.m. on November 1, 2021. Photo: NPV

Assign the People's Committee of Dai Dong commune to organize a review and clarify the responsibilities of relevant collectives and individuals for continuously allowing sand and gravel mining activities in the management area without permission from competent authorities. Report the results and review records to the District People's Committee before November 20, 2021...

Previously, on November 4, 2021, Nghe An Electronic Newspaper published an article "Brazenly "gutting" Lam River", affirming that the information reflected by the people of Hamlet 12, Thanh Tien Commune about the situation of "sand bandits" on Lam River, the section through Thanh Tien Commune and Dai Dong Commune is well-founded. Not only that, the subjects illegally exploited sand and gravel in broad daylight, showing contempt for the law.

For many years, people living along the Lam River, in Hamlet 12, Thanh Tien Commune, have been very upset about the situation of "sand bandits", worried about the negative impact on housing projects and land. Photo: NPV

The article also reported that, based on a report from Nghe An Newspaper, on November 1, 2021, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district directed the district police to inspect and arrest 3 vessels illegally mining sand on Lam River, within the boundary of Dai Dong commune.

Meanwhile, the Dai Dong commune government also received instructions from the Thanh Chuong district People's Committee to go to the reported area to check. Although the district People's Committee's instructions were timely, the Dai Dong commune People's Committee's forces still could not detect and handle any cases./.