Lach Thoi and Mo rivers silted up: People in misery

(Baonghean) - Lach Thoi is a place for anchoring and sheltering from storms for over 300 fishing boats of Son Hai commune, a neighboring area of ​​Quynh Luu district. However, this estuary is being filled with sand, causing the channel to dry up, making it difficult for boats to enter and exit. The Mo River system flowing through An Hoa, Quynh Luong, Quynh Nghia, Quynh Bang communes... is also seriously silted, affecting the drainage of water in residential areas and salt fields.

Fishermen work hard because of Lach Thoi…

Mr. Ba Linh - a fisherman in hamlet 1 of Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu said: "In early 2013, my family built a 400 CV ship, worth 1.7 billion VND to go offshore, but it ran aground twice in Lach Thoi due to siltation at the estuary. Every time the ship ran aground, it was extremely miserable, we had to hire a small boat to "increase the load" to transport seafood to shore; it took 2-3 days to hire a ship and manpower to pull it to shore." Mr. Nguyen Hoa in Hamlet 1, Son Hai Commune lamented: “To avoid the channel being filled with sand, we have to take the ship on a detour of more than 6 km to get to the port. If we go the same route as before, from Lach Thoi estuary to the port, a 400 horsepower ship only costs about 20 liters of fuel each time it enters and exits, but now, going further, it costs more than 80 liters of fuel each time it enters and exits. Therefore, the cost for each trip now often increases by millions of dong, and if we are unlucky enough to run aground, the cost will be tens of millions of dong. The Lach Thoi dredging project has started, we really hope the construction unit will start dredging soon so that fishermen can easily enter and exit the channel.”

High tides overflowing the Mo River destroy the salt fields in An Hoa - Quynh Luu.

According to fishermen in Son Hai, the sand in Lach Thoi is getting thicker every day, the channel is getting narrower and narrower. This year alone, dozens of Son Hai fishermen's boats have had broken keels, broken shafts and propellers due to the channel being too shallow, having to stay in "garages" for repairs, costing tens of millions of dong and wasting time, "a double loss". Mr. Tran Van Hung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Hai commune said that the whole commune has nearly 300 large and small boats, with a total annual output of over 3,000 tons of various types of seafood, with a revenue of over 300 billion VND/year. Of which, income from maritime logistics services such as providing fishing gear, seafood processing, repairing and building new ships, maritime supplies... has a revenue of over 100 billion VND/year. For a long time, the silting of Lach Thoi has not only caused direct difficulties for hundreds of seagoing boats, but also affected other maritime services. The good news is that the State has recently allowed investment in the dredging project of Lach Thoi, the project has started, however the most worrying thing is that the flow of Lach Thoi estuary often changes during the year, so when the dredging is completed, will it be possible to ensure the long-term smooth flow of the waterway?

Mr. Le Van Cuong - Chairman of Quynh Luu District People's Committee said: "The Lach Thoi dredging project has a total investment of 115,386 billion VND, invested by the District People's Committee. The project has started, but due to difficulties in funding, only 4,600 million VND has been allocated from the Central budget of the Storm Shelter Program, so the construction volume is low and the progress is slow. In the future, on the basis of the Central budget continuing to support the 2014 Storm Shelter Program, Quynh Luu District People's Committee will select urgent items such as dredging weak points at Lach Thoi estuary to clear the way for ships and embanking points that are prone to changing currents.

… Salt farmers suffer more due to siltation of Mo River

The Mo River plays a role in providing water for aquaculture, salt production... for the communes of An Hoa, Quynh Lien, Quynh Bang, Quynh Luong, Quynh Minh, Quynh Nghia... For a long time, the riverbed has been seriously silted up, boats cannot travel as before, directly affecting the lives of people in many communes. We walked along the river and saw that the dike was small and narrow, many sections had collapsed. Mr. Nguyen Nam in Tan Thinh hamlet shared: The Mo River has silted up, so supplying water for salt workers to make salt is very difficult. Not to mention the weak dyke system (mainly earthen dykes, which have not been reinforced or repaired for a long time), so when the rainy season comes, high tides often flood the salt fields. In 2013, the water flooded the salt fields, damaging the filters and causing pollution.

Along with sedimentation, the river is seriously polluted, directly affecting salt production and shrimp farming. Tan Thang hamlet alone has 26 hectares of salt, but due to lack of water, productivity is low; more than 14 hectares of shrimp farming are also affected, with the risk of disease spreading. In the second crop of 2013, most of the shrimp in the ponds died, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage. It is known that the whole An Hoa commune has 160 hectares of salt production land, 34 hectares of shrimp farming mainly relying on the water source of Mo river, but the river is silted, affecting production, making people's lives difficult. Especially in the rainy season, due to low dykes, landslides and high tides causing damage to the salt fields, in 2013, An Hoa commune had over 220 salt warehouses flooded, damaging over 700 tons of salt, Quynh Thuan commune had over 600 tons of salt damaged.

The silting of the Mo River has also seriously affected shrimp farmers in Quynh Luong Commune. Mr. Ngo Quang Thang in Hamlet 1, Quynh Luong expressed his indignation: “My family raises 2.6 hectares of shrimp, but it is very difficult to get them into the pond because the river is silted. In particular, many households dredge shrimp ponds and discharge mud into the river and encroach on the riverbed to build houses, causing more obstacles and congestion. Quynh Luong Commune has over 50 hectares of shrimp farming, Quynh Bang has over 100 hectares of shrimp farming, and people are in dire need of the State to invest in a project to dredge the river, creating favorable conditions for getting water for shrimp farming.

The Mo River originates from the Hoang Mai River and is over 20 km long, ending at Quynh Nghia Commune. Up to now, only 3.5 km has been embanked from Quynh Di to Mai Hung. Since 2007, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu District has established a project to dredge the Mo River with a cost of over 46 billion VND. However, due to public investment cuts, the State has not yet invested in it.

The two dredging projects of Lach Thoi and Mo River are very practical. People in Quynh Luu are looking forward to the Government's timely investment of capital to carry out the dredging, creating conditions for people to develop the economy and stabilize their lives.

Van Truong