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The contruction of Hong Long dike in Hong Long Commune, Nam Dan District, Nghe An Province, is inten |
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This plan, which will relocate nearly 15,000 households along the Red River and about 6,000 along other tributaries, was just approved by the capitals Peoples Council.
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Vu Hong Chau, deputy head of the Institute of Water Resources Planning, said that the flood drainage corridor and the dyke system along the river played an important role in protecting the city against floods, because water from the river at the peak of flood season was ranked 15th in the world.
Disaster prevention prioritised
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Tuesday asked the Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, and the National Rescue Committee to prioritise efforts to minimise the loss of human lives and assets as a result of natural disasters thisc year.
Hai asked the two committees to develop prevention and combat plans for dealing with natural disasters that are suitable with the effects of climate change, especially rising sea levels and unusual climate phenomena.
Relevant agencies and local Peoples Committees must focus both on investing in equipment that can combat the effects of natural disasters and on issuing accurate weather forecasts so that people can actively prepare for natural disasters, he said.
Hai expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by the two committees last year and their co-operation with localities and people to prevent and combat storms and floods.
Chau said that the area along the river for the flood drainage corridor should be nearly 6,000ha. However, because there was no master plan, people had moved onto the land along the dyke, causing erosion along the banks.
The plan was drafted by the Institute of Water Resources Planning and showed that all households and projects situated near the corridor would be completely relocated to protect the flow of the river as well as its dyke system.
The citys flood combat and prevention system will be formed along the Red River and the citys other rivers, including the Day, Duong, Tich, Ca Lo and Bui.
Deputy chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Trinh Duy Hung said that the flood drainage corridor would be implemented in two phases, with the first from 2010-15 and the second from 2016-20.
Hung said that capital for the plan, funded from the state budget, ODA and other organisations, was to compensate for land clearance, river dredging and improving and building a new dyke system.
Nguyen Vinh Phuc, an expert in Ha Noi, said that the Red River bank usually suffered from landslides, and that the flow of the river was very tough and hard to adjust. So it would be necessary to make careful considerations before implementing the adjustments.
Pham Sy Liem, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Federation of Civil Engineering Associations, said that although the overall plan had been approved, they should keep getting opinions from experts before implementing it, to avoid negative impacts on the bed and structure of the river.
Land clearance
The municipal Peoples Council said that landmarks would soon be planted for the flood drainage corridor, and a detailed plan would be published for people in the area by the end of the first quarter, so that they would know who would have to move.
Hung said that relocating too many households would cause a lot of problems to city deputies and residents. After a lot of adjustments, nearly 15,000 households along the river would be relocated and compensated for land clearance, instead of more than 26,000 households as in the corridors initial plan.
Chau said that areas with a large number of households to be removed includedTu Liem Districts Thuong Cat and Lien Mac communes, Tay Ho Districts Phu Thuong, Nhat Tan, Tu Lien and Yen Phu communes, Ba Dinh Districts Phuc Xa Commune and Hoan Kiem Districts Phuc Tan and Chuong Duong communes, as well as Hai Ba Trung Districts Bach Dang, Thanh Luong and Vinh Tuy communes, Thanh Tri Districts Linh Nam, Yen So and Yen My communes and Ha Dong Districts Van Phuc Commune.
Chau said that the total households mentioned would be more than 11,000. The other 4,000 or so households were scattered in the northern area of Chuong Duong Bridge, such as Gia Lam Districts Dai Mach and Vong La communes and Long Bien Districts Ngoc Thuy, Bo De and Cu Khoi communes.
Hung said that up to 70 per cent of the money of the plan was for compensation and resettlement.
Nguyen Ngoc Am, a farmer in Tay Ho Districts Phu Thuong Commune, said that most of the households being relocated had been farming for years. If farmers were moved off their land, they would have nothing to do. Even with resettlement money, farmers would still have difficulties finding new jobs.
Nguyen Thi Minh, a coffee shop owner in Long Bien District, said that recently many people were talking about being relocated.
Minh said, "My house will be removed according to the plan. For dozens of years, this coffee shop has fed our family. When I get my compensation, Ill use the money to open another coffee shop."
Deputy chairman Hung said that the citys current flood drainage corridor could not meet the safety standards of the city during peak flood season. It was a difficult task to build the new system, but it had to be done.
Following an administrative boundary increase, Ha Noi now covered more than 334,470ha and depended on major waterways such as the Hong , Duong, Nhue, Day and To Lich rivers for drainage.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Dao Xuan Hoc said that Ha Noi must reevaluate its water drainage system, because rapid urbanisation had caused the overloading of drainage corks.
MARD research showed that if urbanisation and industrialisation increased by 7 per cent, the volume of water needing to be discharged from the area would be double the current volume.
The Nhue River, which had previously been used to drain water from paddy fields, had now become the main drainage system for the citys western area. Meanwhile, the To Lich River had to bear drainage water for the whole of the newly-expanded city.
Hoc said the citys drainage planning needed to be re-thought, since the To Lich River did not have the capacity to bear away water from the whole city.
Ha Nois water drainage system, created in 1987, was no longer adequate for todays city. The system was designed with four pumping stations in total.
Nearly $200 million had been invested in upgrading current waterworks, including the Kim Nguu, To Lich, Lu and Set rivers, six reservoirs and the Yen So pumping station, with a capacity of 45cu.m per second. However, this was insufficient to deal with the capitals heaviest downpours.
V.N.S