The construction of an expressway crossing Vinh Lap commune was started in 2011. Since then, the commune’s rice cultivation area has annually been waterlogged.
The new canal dug by the contractor to replace the old one is too narrow
Because of Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway construction, over 50 ha for paddy in Vinh Lap commune (Thanh Ha district, Hai Duong) are often waterlogged, resulting in leaving land fallow by many households.
Years of obstruction
The construction of this expressway crossing Vinh Lap commune was started in 2011. Since then, the commune’s rice cultivation area has annually been waterlogged.
“My family has five sao (equivalent to 5 x 360m2) of paddies, bringing about 200 – 220 kg of paddy/ sao/ crop previously but only around 120 – 150 kg of paddy/ sao/ crop in recent years because of waterlogging caused a lot of paddies to die. My family did not cultivate last summer crop, so we had to buy rice. This winter crop, I am growing rice again for saving the land,” Trinh Van Lan in Kien Nhue melancholically said.
Vinh Lap commune’s farming area is naturally low, but previously water still easily drained away thanks to wide culvert connected to large rivers. Since the construction of the expressway cross communal area, the contractor has blocked and filled above the existing culvert and placed smaller pipes for road construction; as a result drainage is very slow.
Especially, during construction, soil and sand often spill down over the culvert, which stops flow, resulting in prolonged rice growing area waterlogged .
In addition, irrigation canals improved by the contractor to replace the existing ones are too small, unable to satisfy the drainage damand of over 50 ha.
Another reason is that,the land is in the low terrain, waterloging may last 3 – 4 days even if it does not rain or up to several weeks if it does, causing difficulties in agricultural production.
The Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway construction has also caused 2 ha of converted land for perennial trees alternated with rice growing in Kien Nhue hamlet to fall into constant flooding. There is no access road to the field for all nine households having such converted land as the land lies on the other side of the expressway, but the contractor has not yet provided another road for replacement for the local people.
Unclear responsibility
Talking to us, representatives of the constractor (South Korea’s GS Construction and Engineering Company) said the farm road to that field of Kien Nhue hamlet was not the contractor’s responsibility.
As for the 50 ha of rice waterlogged, the contractor will soon replace with other pipe to for flow. In emergency cases of rains and floods, the contractor will still dredge canals and clear obstacles the and unblock flows.
It is worth mentioning that who will take responsibility for the 2 ha in Kien Nhue hamlet and rebuild the road for the households to access their field for production?
Nguyen Van Khoa, Vice Chairman of the Vinh Lap commune People’s Committee, said the commune had requested the contractor to unblock flows and descharge water for the flooded area, especially during rains and floods.
Nonetheless, only when there were heavy rains did the contractor use dredgers and the dredged soil and sand were immediately loaded right on the bank and thus quickly drifting down, making the canals become blocked up again.
Since the storm No. 2 in July, the contractor has not done anything as above. Farmers have still had to pump water out by their own small pumps.
Moreover, access road communal cemetery area of Kien Nhue and Tu Y communes is also yet to rehabilitated by the contractor. All special roads in Vinh Lap commune for transport of construction materials have seriously deteriorated and settled but not yet been repaired.
Ha Noi – Hai Phong expressway is a national work. However, its construction must not impact on people’s lives and production.
MINH NGUYEN
Đăng ký: VietNam News
