Vinh City: Efforts to restore urban order

(Baonghean) - On April 15th, the People's Committee of Vinh City organized a campaign to clear encroachments on sidewalks and pedestrian areas across 25 wards and communes. The city's task force included representatives from urban management, urban inspection, police, and local urban order teams. After more than a week of implementation, some streets have been largely restored to clear roads and sidewalks. However, public opinion is concerned about whether encroachment will recur after this campaign.

Almost annually, the Vinh City People's Committee organizes task forces to clear encroachments on sidewalks and road shoulders. However, after these large-scale operations, the encroachment continues. In fact, some streets near markets such as Quang Trung, Ben Thuy, Quan Lau (Truong Thi ward), Hung Dung, and Quan Banh (Nghi Phu ward) have become expanded markets with tents, umbrellas, and canopies, obstructing traffic and significantly impacting urban order and the city's landscape. Many streets, such as Nguyen Trung Ngan (Truong Thi ward); Bach Lieu, Pham Kinh Vy, Nguyen Van Troi, and Nguyen Du (Ben Thuy ward), and the grid-patterned streets in Hong Son ward (near Vinh market)... have even seen people encroaching on the road itself for business and trading.

Clearing violations of traffic safety corridors on Phan Dang Luu Street (Truong Thi).

These days, Nguyen Trung Ngan street, connecting Le Hong Phong street to Ho Tung Mau street (Truong Thi ward), is much cleaner and more spacious. This is thanks to the city's authorities clearing and evicting dozens of households that had been encroaching on the road and sidewalks for business purposes. After the clearing, the Truong Thi ward urban order team conducts patrols around midday and in the afternoon, thus eliminating the encroachment. However, according to our observations, many people are still "peeking out" from the small alleys along the street with baskets, carrying poles, and fruits and vegetables ready to display on the road. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau, the owner of a poultry shop on this street, is truly delighted with the authorities' efforts to clear the encroachments on the road and sidewalks. According to her, for a long time, many small businesses have been encroaching on the road, blocking the entrance to her family's shop and hindering pedestrian traffic.

Most roads near markets and public areas frequently experience violations of encroachment on sidewalks and roadways, especially around midday or in the afternoon. This widespread problem stems from the fact that market management boards have not fully fulfilled their responsibilities, focusing only on collecting fees rather than prioritizing self-management of order. Meanwhile, while every ward and commune has an urban order enforcement team, these forces have primarily operated during office hours, and their handling of violations has been lenient, leading to recurring violations. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Chief Inspector of Urban Planning in Vinh City, admitted: “Due to limited personnel, the city's urban planning inspection team cannot cover all streets and areas near markets every day. The task of managing the area at the grassroots level has long been assigned to the local authorities and urban order teams in the wards and communes. However, due to a lack of decisive action in daily enforcement, many streets still experience prolonged violations. Many households even erect poles and solid awnings on the sidewalks, but the ward and commune authorities have not taken any action…”

On April 1st, the People's Committee of Vinh City issued Plan No. 38/KH-UBND on strengthening the implementation of Directive 05/2011 of the Standing Committee of the Vinh City Party Committee on "urban order management". Based on this, three working groups were established, each with an average of around 60 participants, and simultaneously launched operations from the morning of April 15th to April 26th. Mr. Le Quoc Hong - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh City. According to the statement: “Drawing on lessons learned from previous clearance operations, this time, before proceeding, the City Party Committee directed the City People's Committee to establish working groups with sufficient personnel, including: Urban Management, Urban Inspection, Police, local authorities, and urban order teams from wards and communes. When a team organizes clearance in an area, the Party committee, local authorities, and mass organizations of that ward or commune must be present to participate and take over the area after the clearance. If any unit does not resolutely cooperate with the functional forces to clear encroachments on sidewalks and public spaces, the city will take disciplinary action…”

The task forces conducted cross-divisional operations, with officials from different wards participating in clearing violations. During the dismantling of illegal awnings and tents, many individuals showed resistance, but the task forces resolutely dealt with them. For example, on April 21st, Task Force No. 3, while clearing encroachments on sidewalks and walkways near Hung Dung Market, encountered an individual who threatened to attack the officers with a knife. On the morning of April 22nd, while clearing encroachments on Nguyen Trai Street (near Quan Banh Market), a woman blocked a vehicle carrying illegal items. The authorities documented the incident and handed the individual over to the commune police for processing. Many people used foul language and cursed at the authorities during the clearing of sidewalk and walkway encroachments, but with a determination to restore order, the task forces coordinated closely with the ward and commune authorities to strictly handle the cases.

After more than a week of operation, city task forces organized 21 sessions to clear encroachments on sidewalks and pedestrian walkways on 54 key roads; confiscated 825 advertising signs and billboards, 475 tables and chairs of various types; nearly 500 umbrellas, tarpaulins, and awnings; and 50 pushcarts. The teams also issued dozens of administrative violation reports.

With the active participation of task forces, many streets have been restored to order, with clear roads and sidewalks. However, in many areas, after the authorities have cleared the encroachments and moved to other locations, the situation of re-encroachment recurs. Mr. Nguyen Duc Hieu, Team Leader of the Urban Order Team of Ben Thuy Ward, requested the city's task force to return and assist the ward in continuing to clear violations. According to Mr. Hieu, the encroachment on sidewalks and road shoulders is widespread outside of working hours, and deploying ward order officers at this time is a dilemma between responsibility and policy mechanisms. This is a common situation in most wards and communes in the city.

This intensive campaign to clear encroachments on sidewalks and pedestrian areas demonstrates the determination of the Vinh City Party Committee and People's Committee to restore urban order. The City Party Committee has assigned specific responsibilities to wards and communes for taking over after the clearance. Therefore, to avoid a situation where efforts are made half-heartedly, it requires more responsible involvement from wards and communes in assigning officials, coordinating forces, strengthening management, preventing re-encroachment on sidewalks and pedestrian areas, and contributing to building a civilized city as outlined in the City Party Committee's Directive 05.

Text and photos:Nguyen Son