Water from Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir submerged Xop Chao village: "We must learn from our shortcomings"
That was the affirmation of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan - Deputy Head of Hydropower Project Management Board 2 in a meeting with Nghe An Newspaper reporters about the incident of water level rising in Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, flooding houses and primary school in Ban Xop Chao, Luong Minh Commune, Tuong Duong District.
That was the affirmation of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan - Deputy Head of Hydropower Project Management Board 2 in a meeting with Nghe An Newspaper reporters about the incident of water level rising in Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, flooding houses and primary school in Ban Xop Chao, Luong Minh Commune, Tuong Duong District.
After a long time focusing on speeding up the construction progress, on August 8, Ban Ve Hydropower Plant stored water in phase 2. However, after storing water in phase 2 at the water level of over 190m at the dam location, Ban Xop Chao Primary School was submerged in water. It is worth mentioning that, according to the technical specifications of the consultants, Ban Xop Chao at the elevation of 205m will not be flooded when the reservoir is filled with water and will not have to be relocated.
Ban Con Phen also has a number of households and primary schools at risk of flooding and having to be relocated. In that situation, the Management Board of Hydropower Project 2 issued an official dispatch with the content "Resolving problems with survey data, damage investigation, master plan, detailed compensation for resettlement of Ban Ve Hydropower Plant" dated August 12, 2011 to the Institute of Agricultural Planning and Design stating: "The Ban Ve Hydropower Project is in the process of storing water for the second phase and currently it is the main flood season, therefore the shortcomings due to incorrect survey and investigation results lead to serious and unpredictable consequences" and requested the unit to send a working group to the site for inspection. After the survey, the Institute of Agricultural Planning and Design confirmed that the unit's placement of hydraulic markers and reservoir boundary markers were accurate and specifically approved.
Through discussion, Mr. Nguyen Ho Canh - Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Committee, said: "In the short term, the district will relocate people to areas that may be flooded. In the long term, Xop Chao village will be moved out of the reservoir area to Chan Puong area of Luong Minh commune near Bao Thang commune, Ky Son district to facilitate people's travel, production and stabilize their lives."
At the same time, in addition to the Xop Chao point, the district and the investor are re-surveying points in the reservoir area such as Ku Peng, Pieng Loi, Pieng Uong and some points in Nhon Mai commune to carry out the task of evacuating people from the reservoir area to ensure the safety of people's lives, security and order in the district and the Ban Ve hydropower project.
The incident of the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir water level rising and submerging Xop Chao village shows that people were subjective and lost vigilance, the investor blamed the consulting unit for errors in technical parameters and the local government for shortcomings in inventory, leading to this flooding. Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan affirmed: "After the survey between the relevant parties, there was a written conclusion, finding the cause, shortcomings must seriously learn from experience".
The flooding of Xop Chao village leaves a lesson for the construction of hydroelectric projects, especially ensuring safety for people in the reservoir area.
Thanh Le
