Trucks wrecked village roads.

(Baonghean.vn) - Damaged transportation systems and environmental pollution are what are happening daily in localities with construction stone quarrying companies.

Dong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, has three construction stone quarrying companies: Thanh Nam Co., Ltd.; Dong Thanh Co., Ltd.; and 369 Construction Joint Stock Company. Every day, the increasing number of trucks transporting construction materials causes serious damage to the local transportation system, coupled with environmental pollution, affecting the daily lives of residents.

The Lèn Cò quarry in Đồng Thành commune is operated by Đông Thành Company Limited.

Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Thanh commune, said: "The locality has about 5 km of main roads, with a constant stream of trucks transporting construction stone to various places for consumption every day. This has caused severe damage to the roads, making them muddy on rainy days and dusty on sunny days, greatly affecting the lives of people in the area."

The commune has repeatedly petitioned higher authorities for solutions to address the problem, but nothing has changed. Mr. Thanh suggested that relevant departments should regularly rectify the situation of oversized and overloaded trucks carrying construction materials from the quarries to reduce road damage.

The main road in Dong Thanh commune has been upgraded several times, but it keeps getting damaged again after being repaired, due to the daily volume of trucks transporting construction materials from the stone quarries.

Mr. Phan Dang Hao, Director of Dong Thanh Co., Ltd., stated: "The company pays over 1 billion VND in various taxes to the state annually, in addition to contributing 70-80 million VND to the local welfare fund and supporting 1,500-2,000 square meters of land."³The company provides land and rocks to the local authorities for road repairs, rural road construction, and investment in water irrigation to control dust on the road surface. The company has also petitioned relevant authorities to annually allocate a portion of its environmental restoration fund to benefit the local community.

According to Mr. Thai Van Thanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Thanh commune, if the higher authorities allocate a portion of the environmental restoration fund to the locality, the locality will use that funding to invest in household water filters for residents living in the polluted area, or to invest in building rainwater storage tanks and dust shields for the people.

Overloaded trucks cause the road surface to crack and become damaged.

Tru Son commune in Do Luong district also suffers greatly from the damage inflicted by trucks over the past 25 km along its main road. The majority of this 25 km stretch is unpaved and has not been upgraded, resulting in muddy roads during the rainy season and thick clouds of dust during the dry season. This not only affects road users but also enters people's homes, clinging thickly to household items.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Lich, Deputy Secretary of the Tru Son Commune Party Committee, said: There are currently three construction stone mining companies in the commune: Construction Materials Mining Company 99; Toan Thanh Construction Materials Mining Company; and Nghe An Stone Construction Materials Mining Company.

The main road in Tru Son commune is riddled with potholes, created by car wheels, making travel very difficult for the local people.

The biggest problem is the dilapidated main road system and environmental pollution, due to the daily volume of vehicles transporting construction materials for sale. Although the local authorities coordinate with quarrying companies to fill in the roads with soil and rocks every year, the road system remains in a state of serious disrepair. During the rainy season, water accumulates in potholes, making travel very difficult for residents.

The most effective solution, in the process of building new rural areas, with the motto "The State and the people work together," is for the State to invest in cement for localities to pour concrete on main roads as soon as possible.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Yen Thanh District, stated: For a long time, construction stone mining units in the district have been paying 100% of their annual environmental restoration fund to the province. Given the current situation of damaged local roads and environmental pollution caused by mining, the District People's Council has requested the Provincial People's Committee to allocate a portion of the environmental restoration fund to the locality annually, but the Provincial People's Committee has not yet made a specific decision.

To address the problem of damaged roads, when the Provincial People's Committee grants mining licenses, the state needs to invest in access roads with higher load capacity (currently, they are mountainous roads of class 5), which are unsuitable for the reality and cause the local transportation system to deteriorate very quickly due to the high volume of traffic...

Xuan Hoang