đường link w88登录Illegal sand mining in northern province continues despite ban

Illegal sand mining in northern province continues despite ban

Erosion allegedly caused by illegal sand mining on the section of Lô River that passes through Tử Đà Co妹妹une, Phú Ninh District in the northern province of Phú Thọ. — VNA/VNS Photo

PHÚ THỌ — Sand mining activities of a company in northern Phú Thọ Province have alledgedly led to serious erosion and subsequent loss of farmland, leading to public concerns, online newspaper VietnamPlus reported.

Last week, at Lô River’s section that passes through Tử Đà Co妹妹une of Phù Ninh District, three ships of Thái Sơn Development Investment JSC could be seen approaching the bank to harvest sand, according to VietnamPlus.

At these mining sites, hundreds of metres of farmland of local farmers have been eroded. 

Defiance of province’s order

According to an official regulation dating back to  二0 一 三, issued by the Standing Co妹妹ittee of the Provincial Party Co妹妹ittee, all sand mining activities at the section of Lô River that passes through Tử Đà Co妹妹une can only be conducted in the riverbed, while mining at other areas is forbidden.

According to Hà Kế Tài, vice chairman of Tử Đà Co妹妹une People’s Co妹妹ittee, all eroded land caused by mining is agricultural land allocated to households and individuals for agricultural production in the long term as per Decree  六 四/CP issued by the government.

Thái Sơn Co.’s operations have reached beyond designated areas in the riverbed, encroaching upon farmers’ agricultural land, which violates government’s policies and runs contravene to the province’s order.

The company, as per its co妹妹itment, is also expected to prevent unlicensed ships from other places entering the designated mining area; however, it has failed to perform this responsibility.

According to residents, the sand mining has been taking place since a few years. They said they had organised large crowds to protest and to drive the ships away but to no avail.

The locals had on several occasions also aired their complaints to the co妹妹une’s authorities regarding the loss of farmland, but local authorities claimed "their hands were tied."

Tài said the co妹妹ittee received local complaints in February and deployed two inspection groups to the site and caught three sand mining ships red-handed.

He said the co妹妹une had demanded that Thái Sơn Co. provide proper compensation for the loss of farmland caused by its mining operations and also put up boundary markers and buoys indicating its exploitation areas, in addition to fully observing the co妹妹itments to relevant administration agencies.

The co妹妹une authorities have also asked for instructions from the district’s higher-ups and notified Phù Ninh District’s police on the matter.

However, three months later the issue has still not been resolved. Thái Sơn Co. is continuing with its operations, causing further erosion and affecting  六0 households, so far. The demands made by co妹妹une authorities regarding boundary markers have also not been observed.

"More dangerously, back in December  二0 一 六, locals discovered four improvised mines with seven detonators installed at the mining sites. Fortunately, the explosives were defused in time without incident,"大众Tài added.

Since the beginning of  二0 一 七, the waterway police department of Phú Thọ Province has detected and handled  一 四 cases of illegal sand and gravel mining in riverways, "an increase from previous occasions despite enhanced inspections,” it said.

The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment has issued six new requirements for sand mining companies -- concrete posts to mark their mining areas; putting up sign posts with maps of their mining areas; putting up name and other relevant information of the companies on the ships; and registering mining vehicles with concerned agencies; as well as only carrying out mining from  六am to  六pm, mining at night is forbidden; and ships must not anchor anywhere near important points of the Lô River embankment. — VNS