Tuong Duong residents (Nghe An) are waiting for resettlement area

Article: Van Truong - Technique: Lam Tung• DNUM_BEZAFZCABJ 13:48

(Baonghean) - The rainy season is coming, however, many households in Tuong Duong district are living in makeshift huts on the hillside. They are households affected by landslides when hydroelectric dams released floodwaters in 2017 and 2018.

People are tired of living in temporary shelters.

Following Provincial Road 534B, traces of the flood are still there, landslides have not been repaired, along this road there are many tents built by people living on the mountain.

Ms. Lo Thi Lan in Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune shared: Her family's house was solidly built, but the hydroelectric dam's flood discharge in August 2018 washed it away. Without a home, the family of 6 had to set up a temporary tent by the roadside, life was miserable, no electricity, no water...

Bà con bản Minh Phương xã Xá Lượng đang ở tạm bợ bên túp lều tranh. Ảnh: Văn Trường

People of Minh Phuong village, Xa Luong commune are living temporarily in thatched huts. Photo: Van Truong

Also along Provincial Road 534B, there are 34 households in La and Minh Phuong villages, Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district affected by landslides along the river of Nam Non Hydropower Plant since 2017, and were included by the Provincial People's Committee in the Project "Urgent evacuation of 34 households out of areas at risk of landslides".

However, up to now, the project has not had much movement, people are having to live in tents, makeshift. Mr. Lo Thuong, residing in La village said: "We hope that Tuong Duong district will soon deploy a new resettlement area so that people can move to a safe place before the flood season."

Currently, the land fund for resettlement has been planned, the district is implementing construction, but for many reasons, the resettlement areas have not been completed yet. Most of the households subject to emergency relocation have to build temporary tents, living a very miserable life, lacking everything. People are looking forward to the completion of the resettlement areas soon so that they can build new houses and stabilize their lives.

Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of People's Committee of Luong Minh commune

RESETTLEMENT AREA IS BUILT AT A "TURTLE" SPEED

Currently, in Tuong Duong district, there are 71 households in need of urgent evacuation, including 34 households in La and Minh Phuong villages, Luong Minh commune (affected by riverbank landslides, belonging to Nam Non Hydropower Plant) and after Ban Ve Hydropower Plant released floodwaters, 37 more households were damaged.

Những ngôi nhà ở bản Minh Phương bị hư hỏng sau đợt thủy điện Bản Vẽ xã lũ. Ảnh: V.T

Houses in Minh Phuong village were damaged after the Ban Ve hydropower plant released floodwaters. Photo: VT

Up to this point, the people have been supported by the State and hydropower plants to stabilize their lives. Specifically: 34 households in the area affected by the Nam Non Hydropower landslide have been supported with 6.5 billion VND (the State supported 4 billion VND, Nam Non Hydropower Plant supported 2.5 billion VND).

For 37 households affected by flood discharge from Ban Ve Hydropower Plant, each household received 70 million VND in support (of which the State supported 50 million VND and Ban Ve Hydropower Plant supported 20 million VND, mainly for money to relocate their houses to new residences.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Head of the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Tuong Duong district said: Currently, the District People's Committee has selected locations and planned 3 resettlement areas. Since the beginning of 2019, the resettlement areas have been implemented, however, due to lack of funding, the implementation is still slow.

Specifically, the resettlement area for 34 households affected by the Nam Non Hydropower landslide is planned to be built on a 39,895m2 leveled ground.², along with the domestic water and electricity systems, the total value is over 13 billion VND. The mobilized capital includes the central budget, support capital from the Vietnam Electricity Group, and the provincial budget, but so far only 3/13 billion VND has been disbursed.
The construction unit is focusing on leveling the ground.

Khu tái định cư bản Minh Phương xã Xá Lượng đang thi công dang dở. Ảnh: V.T

The resettlement area of Minh Phuong village, Xa Luong commune is under construction. Photo: VT

The second resettlement area in Xop Mat village, resettling 17 households in Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune, worth 7 billion VND, has only reached 70% of the leveling volume. The third resettlement area in Khe Chong, Ban Ve, Yen Na commune, resettling 20 households is planned in Ban Ve, the area where workers building the hydroelectric plant used to live. This resettlement area currently has 12/20 households building houses, however, the current difficulty is that this resettlement area has not been invested in roads, electricity, and water.