When will illegal sand and gravel mining end?

(Baonghean) - Along the Lam River basin (the section flowing from Ben Thuy Bridge (Vinh City) to Anh Son District), every day, hundreds of ships and boats brazenly use water hoses to suck up sand and gravel. Illegal sand mining has changed the flow of the river, causing serious erosion and landslides, threatening the property and lives of people living along the Lam River. It is time for the authorities and local governments to quickly intervene to thoroughly and completely handle this problem...

It was 12 noon but nearly ten boats were still running their engines loudly, sticking their hoses into the Lam River (through Hung Phu Commune, Hung Nguyen) to suck sand. Although the Lam River dike was solidly built, some places were still eroded and eaten deep into the river. Pointing at the anchored boats, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Sy, a resident of Hamlet 6, Hung Phuc Commune, said indignantly: "To illegally suck sand, one has to do it secretly. This road is public, openly in broad daylight, like a deserted place. Sand pumping changes the flow of the river, and the foot of the dike is seriously eroded. If there are no timely corrective measures, in the near future, this Lam River dike will collapse into the river."

The sandy beach is located near the foot of Yen Xuan railway bridge.

Due to the daily sand dredging, the Lam River water is always turbid and polluted. The riverbed is "gutted", causing the flow to be erratic, creating dangerous whirlpools in some places. "Previously, boats often illegally dredged sand more on the other side of the river (Ha Tinh side). But since the authorities of Duc Tho district and Ha Tinh waterway police have been cracking down, they have moved their operations to this side," said Mr. Pham Van Thuong, hamlet 4, Hung Phuc commune.

From 2-3 am, dozens of boats of the "sand bandits" army came from everywhere to Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan districts to illegally dredge sand. The river section from Hung Linh commune to Hung Khanh was filled with the sound of sand-dragging engines day and night. Although not yet licensed by the authorities, dozens of huge sand gathering sites sprang up along the Lam River. Some car parks were bustling with cars, cranes and excavators were operating day and night. On both sides of the Yen Xuan railway bridge over the Lam River (North of Hung Xuan commune, Hung Nguyen) there were two giant sand gathering sites, many boats after "eating" sand from the Lam River ran here for cranes to scoop up the sites.

According to regulations, the sand and gravel dump must be at least 200 meters from the foot of the bridge, however, according to our observations, these two dumps are only a few dozen steps from the foot of the bridge. Trucks continuously go in and out to carry sand but are not properly covered, causing sand to scatter all over Provincial Road 542, making it slippery and dangerous for road users. A few hundred meters from the foot of Yen Xuan iron bridge (South, in Nam Cuong commune, Nam Dan), many boats drop anchor, freely suck sand, and discharge murky water into the river. The continuous sand and gravel pumping that has been going on for many years has eroded and collapsed both sides of the railway bridge abutment, threatening the safety of trains.

Illegal sand mining not only takes place in Vinh City, Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan districts but also in the upstream districts of Lam River such as Do Luong, Thanh Chuong and Anh Son. Along this river, people are complaining about sand bandits making their fields and gardens, and their houses being washed away into the river. The river's changing flow "eats" dozens of hectares of crops and corn of the people. Mr. Le Minh Cuong in Ngoc Son commune (Do Luong district) said: "Illegal sand mining has been going on for many years but has not been thoroughly handled by the authorities. Sand bandits are becoming more and more rampant, and people living on both banks of Lam River are suffering the consequences."

According to our research, "sand bandits" are partly boatmen living on the river. Due to lack of stable jobs, difficult life and not fully aware of the harmful consequences of illegal sand and gravel mining, they still sail their boats to Lam River every day to make a living. Some were caught red-handed and fined several times, but then continued to return to their old jobs. According to an officer of the Waterway Traffic Police Department, when illegal sand miners were discovered and arrested, they were only fined administratively and could not confiscate their vehicles because it was too complicated. After being fined, they were released, so when the force left, these boats continued to operate.

Mr. Tran Van Toan - Head of the Mineral Resources Division - Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that the Department has only granted licenses to two units to exploit sand in the Lam River basin, namely Toan Cau Company, located in Hung Khanh Commune, Hung Nguyen, with a term of 30 years, an area of ​​46 hectares. The second unit is Dung Toan Company located in Nam Dan District, with a license term of 12 years, an area of ​​over 10 hectares. In addition, there are currently 6 applications for sand and gravel exploration and exploitation by companies in the province submitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment but are in the process of appraisal and assessment. “Regarding the issue of sand and gravel exploitation management in the Lam River basin, our province has a joint force including the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Construction, and the police force. This force continuously patrols, monitors, and handles the issue of construction sand exploitation. However, human resources are limited, with only over 10 people managing hundreds of hectares of river surface, so there are many difficulties,” Mr. Toan added.

The licensing and management of sand mining vessels on Lam River are under the authority of the inter-sectoral force, but the sand and gravel gathering sites along the shore are managed by communes and districts. Some localities are still lax and arbitrary in "asking - granting" and granting licenses, which has invisibly helped "sand bandits", making the situation of managing and punishing "sand bandits" more complicated.

According to Mr. Vo Duy Viet - Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the management and illegal exploitation of sand and gravel on Lam River currently has many shortcomings and difficulties. The characteristic of illegal sand exploitation is that it floats on the river, when they see "motion", the subjects start the engine and run away, so approaching and handling it is very difficult. Besides, the awareness of some people is still limited, they think that it does not affect the environment, ecology, changing the flow causes landslides and erosion of the dike, so they exploit carelessly. On the other hand, because some officials at all levels of commune and district authorities are not determined, do not fully understand their responsibilities, so they loosen management and supervision, "ask - give" arbitrarily, making the situation of illegal sand exploitation more complicated.

Sand bandits have been "gutting" the Lam River for a long time, causing frustration among the people. Illegal sand and gravel mining not only pollutes water sources, changes the flow, causes landslides and erosion of dykes and fields, but also threatens the property and lives of thousands of households living along the Lam River. It is time for the provincial authorities and local governments to quickly intervene and resolutely deal with the rampant "sand bandits" problem as it is today. In addition, it is also necessary to plan and specifically assess the environmental and flow impacts to grant licenses to a number of capable and reputable units to solve the problem of lack of construction materials in our province, avoiding the chaotic and complicated exploitation that has lasted for many years.

Trieu Duong