Early evacuation of 4 households to avoid landslides in Chau Binh drainage canal

(Baonghean) - Through the hotline, readers informed Nghe An Newspaper about the Chau Binh drainage canal (Quy Chau) - a part of the Ban Mong Irrigation Reservoir project, being eroded, some households are facing unpredictable dangers...

People are worried

Regarding Chau Binh, verifying the readers' reflection, it is true that there are 4 families whose houses and gardens are located next to Chau Binh drainage canal, in locations that are often eroded when it rains. Those are Mr. Kim Van Dai's household at location K2+557.1 to K2+600.0, in Binh 3 village and 3 households of Mrs. Pham Thi Chinh, Mr. Ho Ba Suu and Mr. Ho Ba Quy at location K3+100.0 to K3+287.17 in Quynh 1 village.

Mr. Kim Van Dai's house is only a few meters from the right bank of Chau Binh drainage canal (where landslides often occur). Photo: Nhat Lan

Mr. Kim Van Dai's family's house is about 5-6 meters from the right bank of Chau Binh drainage canal. From Mr. Dai's house, looking out at the drainage canal, both banks are made of earth, with many landslides and subsidence. According to Mr. Dai's youngest son, Mr. Kim Van Hung, the canal bank erosion occurred during the rainy season of 2015, which was also the time when the canal was formed.

At that time, because of concerns about the house and garden being affected, his family had discussed with the construction unit. At that time, they said that "the canal bank would be reinforced". Mr. Hung said: "They answered us like that but until now there has been no implementation. Every time it rains, the canal bank is eroded. My family's garden and house are only a few meters away from the canal, how can we not worry...".

For Mrs. Pham Thi Chinh's family, their house is about 8-9 meters from the right bank of Chau Binh canal. And the two banks of the canal in this area are in the same condition as the bank of the canal next to Mr. Kim Van Dai's house, because it has not been hardened, it has been severely eroded.

According to Ms. Chinh, when the government built the Chau Binh canal, her family's garden and house were located right in the middle of the canal, so they had to be relocated. After receiving compensation of more than one billion VND, she bought land from local people and built a house.

At the time of building the house, no one came to remind me that the house was built near the canal, which was unsafe. Only when the construction was finished did I see that the canal was also built close to my house; then I saw that when it rained, the canal bank would erode, negatively affecting my house and garden, so I was worried and anxious.

Ms. Chinh said: I am 65 years old this year, and by the time I build a new house, I have run out of money and am exhausted, so I am very afraid of having to resettle a second time. My biggest wish is to somehow prevent the canal bank from eroding so that we can have a stable place to live. If that is not possible, I hope that the authorities will pay attention and soon have a specific plan, because with this situation, I am so worried that I can't eat or sleep...

According to Mr. Le Van Toan, Vice Chairman of Chau Binh Commune People's Committee, the situation of the drainage canal erosion affecting the houses and gardens of 4 households has been reported by the commune authorities at many meetings. However, up to now, no specific solution has been proposed. "In our opinion, we should relocate and resettle all 4 households..." - Mr. Le Van Toan said.

Wait until when?

Representative of the Compensation, Support and Resettlement Council of Quy Chau district - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Lo Thanh Son said that Chau Binh drainage canal has basically been completed according to the design. However, many sections of the canal slope have been eroded, the erosion of the canal slope is becoming more and more complicated, many sections have been deeply eroded, damaging the foundation and drainage ditches. Because this problem is at risk of adversely affecting the houses and gardens of some households, Quy Chau district has requested the Project Management Board (QLDA) of Ban Mong to inspect and find a solution.

Ms. Pham Thi Chinh talks with Nghe An Newspaper reporter. Photo: Nhat Lan

In mid-April 2017, the Ban Mong Project Management Board and the consulting unit, through detailed inspection of the canal, determined that location 1 from K2+557.1 to K2+600.0 has Mr. Kim Van Dai's house (Binh 3 village), the distance from the edge of the house to the edge of Chau Binh drainage canal is 6.0 (m) on the right bank; location 2 from K3+100.0 to K3+287.17 has 3 houses including Mrs. Pham Thi Chinh's house, Mr. Ho Ba Suu's house and Mr. Ho Ba Quy's house (Quynh 1 village), the average distance from the edge of the house to the edge of Chau Binh drainage canal is 9.5 (m) on the right bank. The Ban Mong Project Management Board and the consulting unit determined that these are 2 locations where landslides have been and are occurring in a complex and unpredictable manner, especially when heavy rain occurs.

Because ensuring the safety of people's lives and property is an urgent issue, Quy Chau district then sent a report to the competent provincial authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, requesting consideration of a definitive solution. Mr. Lo Thanh Son said: "The viewpoint of Quy Chau district is to promptly relocate 4 households out of the vulnerable area, often subject to landslides of Chau Binh drainage canal...".

According to Mr. Dinh Tri Lam - Deputy Head of the Board, after checking at the Ban Mong Project Management Board, the landslide on the Chau Binh drainage canal is complicated and has the risk of affecting the houses of 4 households. Therefore, from April 28, the Board has issued Official Dispatch No. 81/BQLDABM-KH on prioritizing the implementation of the BVTC design - cost estimate for the reinforcement of the Chau Binh drainage canal slope at some landslide sections that have the risk of affecting houses, belonging to the auxiliary dam, reservoir canal and Chau Binh drainage canal categories, sent to the consulting unit.

The content of Official Dispatch No. 81, in addition to requesting the consulting unit to thoroughly investigate the cause of the landslide on the Chau Binh drainage canal, also requires the consulting unit to "research and calculate the necessary relocation or reinforcement options to ensure long-term stability and cost savings."

Raising the question: The rainy season is approaching, has the consulting unit come up with a solution yet? According to Mr. Dinh Tri Lam, the consulting unit and scientists are researching to have an accurate assessment of the cause of the Chau Binh canal landslide. Because the Ban Mong reservoir irrigation project is a national project, the research results need to be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the Ministry to conduct appraisal, so it takes time... "After the consulting unit comes up with a solution to fix the problem, the Board will submit it to the competent authority for consideration and decision..." - Mr. Dinh Tri Lam said.

Nhat Lan