The Gam River (also known as the Gam River) is an important confluence of the Lo River, originating from Guangxi Province, China. The river section flowing through Bao Lac and Bao Lam districts is about 55km long.
For generations, the Gam River has been the lifeline of many ethnic communities such as Dao, H'Mong, Tay, Nung... living along both banks. However, the river is currently seriously threatened by sand mining activities. The river water, which was always clear green, has now turned cloudy, causing great concern for local people.
Reporting to Lao Dong Newspaper, many people in Co Ba Commune, Khanh Xuan and Bao Lac Town (Bao Lac District, Cao Bang) expressed their frustration with the situation of sand mining taking place openly on many sections of the Gam River.
To clarify this information, on March 17, the reporter was present at the Gam River section flowing through Co Ba commune. According to observations, there are at least two sand mining sites in operation. Sand mixed in soil, rocks, and gravel is put into 2 screening systems by excavators.
After separation, the sand is deposited in a small, pre- dug lake, while the cloudy wastewater flows downstream. The sand is then loaded onto trucks for transportation for consumption.
The exploitation activities take place near the upstream area of the Gam River, above the location of the Bao Lac A hydropower project under construction. Each section of the river has exploitation, the water color is completely different.
On the morning of March 18, in just a few hours, the reporter recorded three heavy trucks carrying sand from the mining sites. Notably, the truck with license plate 11C-073.97 was identified as transporting sand to a household in Coc Pang commune (Bao Lac district), nearly 30km from the mining site of the steep pass.
A resident in Bao Lac town expressed concern: "The Gam River is the main water source for the local clean water plant. If sand is exploited everywhere like this, we are very worried about the quality of domestic water sources".
According to the reporter's research, the border districts of Cao Bang province have always lacked common construction materials such as sand and stone in recent years. Therefore, localities often propose to request a special mechanism to exploit materials on site to serve social and public works in the area.
On the afternoon of March 18, speaking with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Truong Phuong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Co Ba commune said: "The local leaders have a policy of exploiting river sand and gravel to serve a number of social projects. However, if used for other purposes, selling it to people is wrong.
The representative of the People's Committee of Co Ba commune affirmed that they will conduct a field inspection and take immediate measures to handle illegal sand mining activities.
