Violation of power grid safety corridor in Tho Hop (Quy Hop)

(Baonghean)Recently, violations of the power grid safety corridor (HLATLĐ) in Tho Hop commune, Quy Hop district have been quite common. The level of violations is increasing, seriously threatening the lives and property of the people. However, preventing and handling these violations is currently facing many difficulties.

According to statistics from Dien Quy Hop branch, Quy Hop district has 18 cases of violations of labor safety regulations. Tho Hop commune alone has 11 cases. Common violations are construction of housing projects, auxiliary projects and organization of construction of projects in labor safety regulations...

Recently, Quy Hop Electricity Branch has strengthened the inspection and assessment of the level of violations of the power grid corridor, handled the consequences of violations from previous years, and made records of cases of intentional violations of the occupational safety and health law. Mr. Tran Van Nghia - Head of Technical Department, Quy Hop Electricity said: Recently, there have been a number of serious accidents leading to death, and leaving sequelae and disabilities. At 11:25 on August 1, a serious electrocution accident occurred that caused death in Tho Son hamlet, Tho Hop commune, the victim was Mr. Truong Van Quang, born in 1965, residing in My Tan hamlet, Chau Dinh commune. That is the consequence of the violation of labor safety and hygiene... For example, Quy Hop Electricity has strengthened the inspection and assessment of the level of violation but encountered many difficulties because these violations have built houses and solid structures, many of which have been violating labor safety and hygiene for many years, some for 7-10 years, so it is difficult to handle. With our authority, we only go down every year to inspect and make a record to report to local authorities. We request that all levels and functional sectors promptly intervene to take measures to ensure the safety of people's lives and property and stabilize safe power supply in the area."

In Tho Hop commune, many families were warned by the Electricity Department to violate the occupational safety and health code but still deliberately built and expanded it. Many households have constructions only 0.5m away from the power lines, which is very dangerous. The main reason for the difficulty in completely handling violations of occupational safety and health codes is that people do not fully understand the regulations on occupational safety and health protection. Many people are still subjective and do not foresee serious accidents that can occur when building houses and constructions in the occupational safety and health code. Meanwhile, coordination between authorities at all levels and the Electricity Department in detecting and handling violations is not tight. Many constructions are only discovered to have violated the law after they are completed, making handling difficult. In addition, in some cases, when planning land, a thorough survey of the field was not conducted and the previous existence of power lines was not taken into account, causing violations by people to continue... Mr. Nguyen Van Trung - Chairman of Tho Hop Commune People's Committee said: "11 households violated from 1995 to 2005, from that period until now there have been no handling records or inspection records, so the issue of dismantling and relocation is very difficult. The commune's decision to enforce dismantling is beyond its authority."

According to the provisions of the Electricity Law, Decree 106/2005 of the Government on the protection of safety of power grid works: Before granting a license to an organization or individual to build new or expand or renovate a house or work in the high-voltage power grid, the licensing authority must require the investor to reach a written agreement with the high-voltage power grid management unit on measures to ensure the safety of overhead power lines and safety during construction. However, in reality, in Tho Hop commune, when granting construction permits, this issue is not paid attention to.

Faced with the above situation, to limit violations of occupational safety and health, avoid damage to property and lives of people in Quy Hop in particular, the responsibility is not only the Electricity sector but also requires active coordination of all levels and sectors in propaganda work, mobilizing people to comply with regulations on occupational safety and health.

Huy Nham