After many days of continuous rain, another landslide has appeared in Dien Bien Phu City, threatening the water source safety of both Dien Bien Phu City and the surrounding area.
On the afternoon of September 30, according to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, in addition to the landslide, there were many locations showing signs of landslides, causing the two main water pipes leading to the domestic water treatment plant of Dien Bien Water Supply Joint Stock Company to be at risk of bursting and breaking.
It is worth mentioning that this is the only water source providing domestic water for the entire Dien Bien Phu city and some neighboring communes of Dien Bien district (Dien Bien province).
At the scene, the landslide caused dozens of meters of residential road to be broken, hundreds of cubic meters of rock and soil to slide down the cliff, and the irrigation canal parallel to the water pipeline was also broken and damaged in many sections.
Present at the scene to inspect the water pipeline, Mr. Pham Quang Tuan - CEO of Dien Bien Water Supply Joint Stock Company - said that the company's workers discovered the landslide a few days ago. However, up to now, the land is still showing signs of subsidence and further landslides, making the situation more serious.
"We have had to temporarily reinforce the locations on the water pipes that have burst, broken, or are at risk of bursting or breaking. However, that is only a temporary solution to hold out until the government has a comprehensive solution to fix this landslide," said Mr. Tuan.
According to Mr. Pham Quang Tuan, the landslide has caused dozens of meters of irrigation canals to be broken and many points are at risk of falling into the abyss, leading to many consequences. First of all, the supply of irrigation water to hundreds of hectares of agricultural land downstream has been interrupted.
"If the irrigation canal continues to be broken, the water pipeline to the factory will also not be able to survive. When this situation occurs, the entire Dien Bien Phu City and Dien Bien District will lose domestic water because this is the only water source leading to the factory," said Mr. Tuan.
Regarding the solution, the Director of Dien Bien Water Supply Joint Stock Company said that this incident is primarily related to the assets of Dien Bien Phu City (irrigation canal system). The company will work with the leaders of Dien Bien Phu City to discuss the earliest solution.
"It can be said that this is a serious incident, threatening the safety of water resources, including domestic water and irrigation water. Therefore, to overcome the incident, a comprehensive and stable solution is needed," Mr. Tuan added.
On the same day, speaking with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Tran Quy Hung - Vice Chairman of Dien Bien Phu City People's Committee - said that up to now, he has not received any information about the landslide affecting the above mentioned irrigation project.
"Regarding this content, I will ask specialized units to conduct inspection and verification and will provide specific information" - Mr. Tran Quy Hung said.
