Tin mining "bandits" rampage in Cuong village
(Baonghean.vn) - The Pa Po mountain area in Cuong village, Chau Tien commune (Quy Hop) was licensed to An Thai Minerals Company Limited. But in recent years, according to public opinion, there has been a person who has "protected" people from "bandit" tin mining. The entire forest has been dug up and chopped up indiscriminately.
We went with Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Viet Nhi - Head of Working Group No. II - Deputy Head of the Environmental Police Department of Nghe An Police to the "hot spot" in Pa Po at noon. Before our eyes were a mess of dug-up pits covering an area of about 3 hectares. Illegal tin miners set up tents on the mountain, bringing with them machines, electric wires, and water hoses hanging precariously on the mountainside. They used hoes and shovels to dig, creating deep holes, "eating" right into the newly completed Provincial Road 538.
The whole Pa Po area was devastated.
People dig for tin in Pa Po.
Mr. Tran Van T, a local resident, was upset: "With this kind of illegal tin mining, the risk of landslides is very high. We request that the authorities take measures to rectify the situation." According to our observations, the illegal tin mining here is quite chaotic, people dig wherever they want. In some places, dozens of people are digging "frog jaws" into the mountain, and rocks and soil from the high mountains can collapse at any time.
Mr. Dinh Trung Kien - Director of An Thai Minerals Company Limited, said: The company is licensed to exploit tin on an area of 25.8 hectares in Cuong village, Chau Tien commune. In recent years, with the "protection" of a local person, many people have brazenly entered the Company's licensed area to illegally mine. The company has repeatedly tried to persuade the subjects not to mine, but they have been threatened and beaten. The company has sent a dispatch requesting the relevant agencies to take measures to expel "bandit" tin mining in the Company's licensed area.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Viet Nhi added: "Working Group No. II has chased them away many times, however, when they withdrew, the subjects came back to mine. Currently, the Group is coordinating with the People's Committee of Chau Tien commune to organize a sweep, confiscate all equipment, and is determined to eliminate the illegal "bandit" tin mining competition.
Van Truong
