According to people's reflection, on the morning of December 11, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters were present at the Hot Water Lake Cultural Area on Hung Vuong Street (Soc Trang Ward, Can Tho City).
In the ornamental plant business area, many large cajuput trees were cut down, leaving the base close to the ground, the cutting exposed the red wood inside. The entire wooden body has been moved. In addition, the gate area was locked.
According to the people, the gate was opened the same morning, but soon after, someone came to lock it. Observing through the fence, many trees only have the base and small branches, leaves left.
Similarly, along the path leading to the mini soccer field, many ancient acacia trees continue to be cut down. Some wooden trunks are lying in open space, others are covered with temporary cover. Some trees are still leaking plastic, showing that the sawing time is very close.
A service worker at the Ho Nuoc Ngoc Cultural Area said that the tree cutting has been going on for about a week now. According to this person, before, the Cultural Area only had the policy of pruning branches, creating canopy and only cutting down dead trees. However, the trees that have just been cut down are still green, very old and have been planted since the establishment of this Cultural Area. This person also said that after being cut, the wood is transported away and then transported back, causing many questions.
Many people who regularly exercise in the area expressed their frustration because the acacia trees have wide canopy, creating shade for the entire lake area, but there is no announcement about the reason for cutting down or the direction of handling the wood taken away.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, the leader of the People's Committee of Soc Trang Ward (Can Tho City) confirmed that he had received the information but said that the above area was under the management of the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, so the locality did not know the number of trees cut down as well as the specific developments.
Contact Mr. Nguyen Van Bay - Director of the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, said that he had received feedback and this morning the unit is verifying the incident.
Hot Water Lake is located at 2 Hung Vuong, Soc Trang City, old Soc Trang Province. This is a large-scale artificial lake project of the province, including a small lake and a large lake next to each other. In which the small lake was built in the early 60s of the 20th century. In 1982, Soc Trang people continued to manually dig a large lake, the purpose of which was to make a water sewer before putting it in the domestic water treatment plant.
For decades, the Hot Water Lake Cultural Area has been a place for cultural activities and entertainment that attracts many people inside and outside the province.
At the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, Soc Trang province used some items here to establish a field hospital, so it temporarily suspended operations. In August 2022, the province reopened the Hot Water Lake. At the end of 2023, the locality will renovate and renovate items, organize many activities to create more healthy and practical playgrounds to serve people and tourists.
