Public sand mining and transportation
Reporting to Lao Dong Newspaper, people in Nghia Do commune, Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province expressed their frustration and insecurity about the illegal sand mining situation, then used heavy trucks to transport it through residential roads day and night.
In addition, the operation of sand mines located next to the kindergarten and primary school of Nghia Do commune has caused many parents to worry about the risk of insecurity when their children go to school and after school.
According to the reporter's records, in mid-February 2025, along the Nam Luong stream flowing through Nghia Do commune, there were many illegal sand mining sites.
At the time of recording on February 18, the sand mining site near Nghia Do Primary School had many excavators digging sand from the stream bed and then transferring it to trucks.
Not far away, machinery and tools are exploiting on Nam Luong stream.In addition, there is a gathering point for dozens of blocks of sand waiting to be taken away for consumption.
Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang (Nghia Do commune) said: "We people are extremely worried because the residential road of the people is being plowed down by sand trucks that are often operating. These mines are mainly spontaneous and unsafe. Every day, there are about 20-30 vehicles entering and exiting to transport sand publicly but are not inspected or handled by the authorities".
Some other residents said that the sand gathering sites here were lifted directly from the bottom of Nam Luong stream. There were days when from 4am heavy trucks and tiger trucks carrying sand came to transport them for sale (along the residential road to National Highway 279), making it impossible for people to sleep. The next morning the road was soaked with water flowing from these sand trucks...
"You can't go directly to the stream bank to look for sand"
Speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Ly Van Noi - Chairman of Nghia Do Commune People's Committee - affirmed that no unit in the area is licensed to exploit minerals. Any act of sand mining on Nam Luong stream is illegal.
"Recently, some households were affected by floods due to sand and silt in their rice fields, so people took out machines to level them to restore production activities. In addition, some families affected by storm No. 3 also took advantage of this to build houses" - Mr. Ly Van Noi informed.
According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghia Do commune, recently, the commune has verified that there are some places where people pick up sand to build houses. After storm No. 3, the authorities assigned the police to call households to request a commitment to only scoop up sand to use to overcome natural disasters and not sell it.
However, after being shown images of sand mining and sand transportation around Nghia Do Primary School by reporters, Mr. Ly Van Noi said: "After receiving feedback from the people, the commune called the households to arbitrarily exploit sand at the above location to request stopping all activities. As for the above household deliberately exploiting after being asked to stop, in recent days, the locality has not paid attention to this."
Regarding the above issue, Mr. Tran Trung Kien - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Bao Yen district - also confirmed that there are no sand mines licensed to operate in Nghia Do commune. "We have this information and have issued a document directing the assignment of tasks to local officials. The commune must have management duties, but the Department of Natural Resources and Environment cannot go directly to the stream bank to look for sand. After receiving the feedback, the unit will conduct a re-examination" - Mr. Tran Trung Kien added.
