Heatwave, drought and forest fires heat up the provincial People's Council session

Provincial People's Council delegates discussed enthusiastically in the hall

(Baonghean.vn) - In the spirit of concentration, democracy and frankness, many opinions of the delegates were raised at the Provincial People's Council meeting. Some opinions of the delegates were explained by the Provincial People's Committee and the sectors, further clarifying the issues that voters were interested in.

Pumping station not in operation for 5 years

On the morning of July 21, the 15th session of the 17th Provincial People's Council continued its working program with a discussion session in the hall. Delegate Phan Thi Thanh Thuy (Thai Hoa Town) said that the Vuc Giong Pumping Station in Thai Hoa Town, part of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project, invested by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), was constructed in 2012 and completed in 2015, with the goal of serving irrigation for agricultural production.

But until now, the pumping station has not been put into operation, the items are silted up, damaged, trees grow on both sides, some mechanical equipment is damaged and lost.

Delegate Phan Thi Thanh Thuy (Thai Hoa Town) requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to find a solution to put the Vuc Giong Pumping Station into operation soon. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Delegate Thuy said that the provincial People's Committee has issued a document assigning the irrigation company to be in charge of management, but they have not yet accepted the handover for the above reasons. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has also reported in response, but voters have not agreed. The delegate requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to have specific solutions for the project to operate effectively.

Delegate Dinh Thi An Phong (Nghi Loc) said that the drought is severe, in Nghi Loc there are more than 3,000 hectares of rice affected by drought, 900 hectares are severely affected by drought, and some communes lack water for daily life. Voters asked the province to have a synchronous solution to ensure water for irrigation of crops and daily life of the people.

A section of the canal belonging to the Vuc Giong Pumping Station (Thai Hoa Town) was damaged when the project had not yet been put into use. Photo courtesy of IT

Delegate Dinh Thi Hoa (Thanh Chuong) suggested that the province study the conversion of seawater into fresh water, or drill wells to get more underground water for agricultural production to improve people's lives.

There are forest fires caused by people intentionally burning them.

Responding to the opinions of the delegates, Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that due to hot weather, since the beginning of the year, there have been 16 forest fires in the province, causing damage to the forest, the total burned area is 116.18 hectares, the damaged forest area, unable to recover is 39.48 hectares, of which, natural forest is 1.59 hectares, planted forest is 35.99 hectares.

To date, there have been 4 cases where the arsonists have been identified, and the police have investigated and prosecuted 4 cases of deforestation. There are 3 causes of forest fires: due to people being subjective in hot weather; due to personal conflicts or land disputes, they intentionally set fires; and another cause is that the firebreak is small, so it cannot prevent the fire from spreading from one area to another.

Mr. Nguyen Van De suggested investing funds to expand firebreaks to limit forest fires; doing a good job of zoning and protecting forests, increasing benefits for forest owners and forest protection. At the same time, the police force needs to investigate and strictly handle those who cause forest fires to set an example.

Mr. Nguyen Van De - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development answered the delegates' opinions. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding the Vuc Giong Pumping Station, part of the Ban Mong Reservoir Project, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the pumping station was completed in 2015. In the project to put it into operation, it would be handed over to the commune for management, but because the pumping station had modern equipment, the commune could not manage and operate it. After that, the Provincial People's Committee transferred it to Phu Quy One Member Co., Ltd. for management.

"During the transfer process, due to lack of capital, project delays, and site clearance problems, some equipment was damaged. The Department has issued a document assigning the Project Management Board as well as the company to research and complete the repair so that the pumping station can operate in 2020," Mr. De affirmed.

Many areas of Nghe An province are facing severe drought. Photo: Quang An

Regarding the opinion of delegate Dinh Thi An Phong, Mr. Nguyen Van De said that in Nghi Loc, there are 900 hectares of drought, of which 250 hectares are at risk of severe drought. This area takes water from the Nam Irrigation System managed by Nam Dan, through Nam Dan sluice. However, currently, the Lam River water level is low, making it difficult to get water.

As for the immediate solution, Nam Irrigation Company Limited will use the remaining water source to pump rice. As for the overall solution, the department will consult the provincial People's Committee and submit to the Central Government for a drought prevention project.

Regarding the conversion of crop structure, Mr. Nguyen Van De said that if there is early rain, some short-term rice varieties should be prepared. If the drought continues, some areas will be converted to growing other crops. However, there are some areas that cannot be converted and must still accept growing rice.

In the near future, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will research and propose a mechanism to support people in drilling underground water wells for watering plants and daily life.