The rain is getting mud
Storm No. 1 has passed for more than 10 days, but more than 70 pepper trees of Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh's family (residing in Xuan Hoa village) are still covered by a layer of mud 0.5 to 20cm thick. The sun has been hot for many days but the mud has not yet dried, causing pepper trees to start to turn yellow, with the risk of dead roots if not promptly repaired.
"If pepper trees cannot drain the water, their roots will rot and they will gradually die. The water cannot now recede because the soil from the highway has completely blocked the drainage, Mr. Thanh worried.
This situation is not only happening in Mr. Thanh's pepper garden, but many other households living next to the expressway are also struggling due to the lack of a drainage ditch system. After each rain, a large amount of mud from the highway slope overflows straight into residential areas, causing gardens and crops to be covered, and the village roads become muddy, endangering road users.
The locality has not yet handed over the site for the construction of the drainage ditch
Xuan Hoa village currently has 52 households affected during the construction of the Van Ninh - Cam Lo expressway passing through the area. The main reason is that the expressway is being constructed with an elevation much higher than that of a residential area, but there is no suitable water channel system.
The flooding and landslides have lasted for more than a year, causing economic damage and posing many potential safety risks.
Mr. Hoang Giap - Head of Xuan Hoa village said that during the flood season last year, people were isolated because the water overflowed all the paths. Flower trees were flooded, and thick mud in the garden, greatly affecting the lives of the people.
According to the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board (investor of the Van Ninh - Cam Lo expressway project), the main cause of the problem of flooding and mud in the upper land is that the original design of the route did not have a vertical ditch system. After the people were affected, the locality petitioned, the investor added a drainage ditch.
"The drainage items and handover of site clearance markers from February 2025, but after many months the district has not yet handed over the site for construction" informed the Ho Chi Minh Road Project Management Board.
Mr. Thai Anh Giang - Commander of the XL2 package construction site (Truong Thinh Group) hopes that the government will soon hand over the site so that the unit can construct a drainage ditch, promptly minimizing damage to the people.
"If the construction is completed in time, when the drainage is complete, water will not flood into the garden or into people's houses. But there is currently no site for construction, we hope the locality will speed up the site clearance process," said Mr. Giang.
According to the People's Committee of Gio An commune, in response to the damage to the people, the commune has made many recommendations to the People's Committee of Gio Linh district.
The seemingly small drainage system is a vital condition for dozens of households here. If not resolved promptly, the risk of crop failure will occur," said the leader of Gio An Commune People's Committee.
