Loss of property, loss of livelihood
It has been 2 months since the landfill holes at Ngoc Hoi solid waste treatment area (in Sa Loong commune) broke, so far, many people have not received satisfactory compensation.
After the incident, bottles, pieces of glass, nylon, syringes... were still floating everywhere; garbage was stuck on tree branches, fish ponds, coffee plantations that workers could not collect all.
Mr. Giap Van Truong (residing in Bo Y commune, Quang Ngai) sadly walked in the middle of a coffee plantation with a foul smell. The family's fish pond of more than 600 m2 is preparing to harvest and is flooded with garbage. Large and small fish, some of which weighed more than 10 kg such as crab, sesame, drifting... died with a white belly.
After more than 30 years of starting a business in the Central Highlands, the whole family depends on fish ponds and gardens. However, in just one moment, the property flowed into the river and stream. I am afraid my family will fall into poverty again, Mr. Truong shared.
According to statistics, his family suffered a loss of more than 200 million VND. More worryingly, waste, mud, leachate and toxic chemicals still remain under the soil and rock, seeping into water and trees. People cannot afford to invest in dredging and repair to raise fish in the coming years.
Damage of 1 billion VND, suggested support... 39 million VND
Not far away, the family of Mr. Giap Van San (residing in Dak To commune, Quang Ngai) also suffered from poverty. He borrowed more than 800 million VND to raise Ba Ria fish from the beginning of 2025, but on July 30, a garbage pit broke, causing water to overflow and wash away the fish pond. The family suffered a loss of nearly 1 billion VND, and is now unable to repay the bank debt.
Mr. San and his wife have to work for hire, sometimes as farmers in the Bo Y border, sometimes as truck drivers to Quang Ninh to earn money to raise their four young children.
Ironically, Bao Tran Kon Tum Company Limited - the project contractor - only agreed to support: Mr. San 39 million VND, Mr. Truong 40 million VND, Mr. Thanh's household 32 million VND, Mr. Hanh 21 million VND, Mr. Dung 5 million VND, Mr. Ngoc nearly 12 million VND...
People are upset because the support level is too low, not commensurate with the damage. Mr. Truong said: "With 40 million VND, people cannot afford to rent excavators to dredge fish ponds. The most dangerous is leachate containing toxic chemicals that are still soaked deep in the soil. Construction companies and operating units must be responsible for thoroughly handling pollution so that people's lives can return to normal".
Regarding the Ngoc Hoi waste pit break, Mr. Ho Trong Phuong - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Ngai province - advised the Provincial People's Committee to request the construction unit (Kon Tum Bao Tran One Member Co., Ltd.) to support people to overcome the damage, and pledged not to let similar incidents happen again in the future. If an incident occurs, the unit must take full responsibility before the law.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Ngai province said that the cause of the broken trash canopy incident was due to prolonged heavy rain and extreme weather leading to erosion.
The terrain of the Sa Loong area is mainly steep hills, easily saturated soil, the amount of rainfall is much greater than the escape and storage capacity of the system.
As reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, at noon on July 30, the landfill in Ngoc Hoi solid waste treatment area broke, garbage water overflowed, burying more than 9 hectares of agricultural land of 12 households (mainly aquaculture area). The project has an investment capital of more than 49 billion VND, an area of 6.8 hectares, but after just over 3 months of operation, a serious incident occurred.
