The naiad is lurking

In fact, the out-of-season landslide has been occurring in the last few years, but it has become alarming. On May 9, 2011, a landslide case occurred at the Rach Cam Market in Long Hoa ward of Binh Thuy district in Can Tho City, killing two and injuring five. Meanwhile, a part of the Rach Cam Market, covering an area of 320 square meters collapsed into the river.

Another landslide case occurred on the morning of March 4 in Binh Duc village of Long Xuyen City, sinking tens of houses. The cracks at the landslide site, next to the Highway No. 91, are threatening the traffic safety, while the households in the areas have evacuated.

The “red alarm” has also been rung for the Cho Gao canal in Cho Gao district of Tien Giang province. More than 150 places with landslide have been found, which has encroached on the shore by 2-20 meters. In many places, the stretches of roads along the canal have been damaged, badly affecting local residents’ life.

In Can Tho City, which is called the “metropolis of the western region,” which has the system of canals with 1000 kilometers in length and 65 kilometers of the Hau River section, 24 landslide points with the total length of 56 kilometers have been found. There are latent risks at the landslide points which threaten the safety of people’s lives.

Landslide works still awaiting capital

Mekong River Delta’s residents hope that the anti-landslide projects to be implemented in the future would protect them from the disaster. However, they still do not know when the projects would be carried out, while the disaster is getting more serious.

In 2010, the Can Tho City’s authorities approved the plan on fighting against the landslide in the city, under which 29 embankment works would be built in the period of 2010-2030.

The works would have the total length of 50 kilometers and the investment capital of two trillion dong. It is expected that 15 works would be completed in the first phase of the plan, in 2010-2015, while 12 works would be completed in the second phase, in 2015-2025, and three works would be implemented in the third phase, in 2025-2030.

However, most of the works still remain on paper, because the local authorities still do not have money to implement the projects. To date, only the project on building the embankment system on O Mon River (the first phase) has been kicked off.

The work is expected to have the length of 1260 kilometers, located in the territory of Chau Van Liem ward of O Mon district. This would be a solid embankment with reinforced concrete, which would ensure the safety for local residents’ life and upgrade urban planning

The whole construction work, from the O Mon Bridge to the Hau River, capitalized at 416 billion dong, would be carried out in four phases which lasts four months. Local residents have been expecting the embankment work with patience, because it would protect them from the river shore landslide

As the situation has become serious, in late 2011, the Can Tho City People’s Committee submitted to the government the plan to build 14 embankments with the capital from the state budget, including four urgent projects, planned to be implemented in 2012.

However, Pham Van Quynh, Director of the Can Tho City’s Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, has foreseen that it will take much time to get the disbursement from the state budget, because the city would have to follow necessary complicated procedures.

Source: Lao dong