Suffering because of slow construction of resettlement project

(Baonghean) - The flood season is approaching, and people in Pat village (Chau Tien commune) and Quan village (Lien Hop commune) of Quy Hop district are worried because the emergency resettlement project to evacuate people from the disaster and landslide areas is behind schedule.

Some households are subject to relocation in Quan village (Lien Hop).

These gentle streams and creeks are like that, but when the flood season comes, they become "death scythes" that threaten houses, fields and the lives of many people here. Until now, Mr. Vi Van Thanh in Quan village (Lien Hop commune) still remembers clearly the moment his entire house was swept away by the flood in 2009. Mr. Thanh said: "It was in the morning, the whole family was sitting down to eat when the water suddenly rose. Looking outside, the whole village was submerged in water. We were scared and climbed onto the roof of the house. Luckily, it was a thatched house, otherwise there would be no way to survive. That year, nearly 20 houses in the whole village were swept away by the flood. All the crops were buried under the soil." For many years, ethnic minorities living in the Muong Hat and Muong Nghinh areas of Chau Tien and Lien Hop communes, Quy Hop district, have had to endure the same situation. Because people often build their houses right at the foot of the mountain, close to the stream, just one heavy rain and flood water from Chau Hong and Chau Tien flooded dozens of households in the two villages above.

In that situation, in 2011, Quy Hop district approved the project to urgently relocate people from the disaster and landslide areas in Chau Tien and Lien Hop communes with a total capital of 36,134 billion VND. According to the approval, the project was implemented in phase 1 from 2012 to 2014 to relocate 42 households in Pat village, Chau Tien commune and 31 households in Duoc and Quan villages, Lien Hop commune. The project was approved to meet the long-standing expectations of dozens of affected households as well as the authorities and people of the communes. However, after more than 2 years of implementation, the progress of the resettlement area construction has been very slow. Specifically, in Pat village, Chau Tien commune, only the leveling of the ground has been carried out. In Duoc and Quan villages, Lien Hop commune, the leveling and construction of a traffic spillway have only stopped at the leveling and construction of a traffic spillway. While the total number of items to be implemented includes: Site leveling, internal traffic, electricity, water, cultural house, sports field...

The road to the resettlement area is seriously degraded (small photo).

To reach Quan village, one must cross dangerous mountain roads more than 50 km from the district center to see the hardships of the people here. According to Mr. Lo Thanh Dong, Chairman of Lien Hop Commune People's Committee, the dangerous traffic system is a barrier to the construction of the resettlement area. To level the 3.35 ha land for 41 households, it takes a lot of time and effort because the roads are small and steep, and the transportation of construction materials as well as machinery and equipment is very difficult. As a household subject to relocation, Mr. Vi Van Thanh shared: “We have been waiting for several years but the resettlement area has only just finished leveling the ground. The flood season is approaching, so my family had to buy 30 steel bars and 4 tons of cement to prepare to build a house to cope with this year's flood season. Although there was an announcement that each household would receive 20 million VND in relocation money, we have not received it yet, so we can only prepare the minimum materials. However, what the villagers are worried about is that the resettlement area is planned on a rather high hilltop, so if the house is not solid, it will certainly be in danger during a big storm or strong wind.”

For Pat village (Chau Tien commune), these days, people are also worried about the flood season. The construction of a resettlement area makes everyone happy, but now they are more worried than happy. Mr. Vi Van Ly, Vice Village Chief, confided: “People here only have a small area of ​​land for cultivation, Na Doong and Na Pen. In the past two years, when leveling the ground, rocks and soil fell from the top of the hill, covering nearly 1/3 of Na Doong's area, greatly affecting the rice production of the village. We hope the investor will speed up the construction progress so that people can soon stabilize their lives.”

Explaining the progress of construction at the above resettlement areas, Mr. Vi Van Chuong, Head of the Rural Development Department of Quy Hop District, said: "The project is being implemented slowly due to lack of capital and "drop by drop" funding. According to the plan, the capital allocated for phase 1 is 17 billion VND, but so far only 11.8 billion VND has been allocated. Therefore, the construction work and support for relocation for households at the two above resettlement sites for the people have encountered many difficulties."

Thanh Quynh