Receiving compensation but still worried
Regarding the unusual death of many rice areas next to the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway project (through Long My district, Hau Giang province), on the afternoon of May 5, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters contacted a number of affected households and the investor, My Thuan Project Management Board, for clarification.
As a affected family, Mr. Duong Van Phuoc (born in 1980, Luong Nghia commune, Long My district) said that on April 30, his family received support of more than 35 million VND from the contractor of the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway project, after 7 hectares of rice in his family were affected by the construction process.
Mr. Phuoc added that with 7 hectares of large rice land, his family harvests an average of 40 million VND per year. According to Mr. Phuoc, although the compensation from the contractor cannot fully compensate for annual income, it has helped his family somewhat solve the difficulties in a timely manner.
Mr. Phuoc also said that, besides financial compensation, the biggest concern of his family at present is the issue of draining water for the fields.
"I hope that construction units and local authorities will have solutions to build an effective drainage system to prevent alum infection from recurring in the coming rice crops. From there, to make people feel secure in production, no longer worry about rice being affected by the project", Mr. Phuoc said.
Regarding the next rice crop production plan, Mr. Phuoc said that his family is still waiting for the official announcement from the authorities about the time of planting and related instructions.
Mr. Tran Thong Minh's family (Luong Nghia commune, Long My district) has 15 rice fields that have completely damaged 5 fields, the remaining 10 fields are also affected but have not been compensated.
"Although I received a compensation of 18.4 million VND for an area of 5 hectares of rice on April 30, the worry about the next rice crop still worries me," Mr. Minh worried.
When asked about the upcoming rice crop, Mr. Minh shared that to reduce risks, he decided to lease a part of the land area (5 hectares).
"It is better to hire someone than to spend effort, spend money and then lose everything," said Mr. Minh.
62 households affected
According to the report of the People's Committee of Long My district (Hau Giang province), the damaged area was 36.92ha/62 households (Luong Nghia commune 34.42ha/56 households; Luong Tam commune 2.5ha/6 households).
The total support budget for people in the two communes is more than 940 million VND (Luong Nghia commune is 902 million VND; Luong Tam commune is nearly 38 million VND).
Mr. Le Hong Viet - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Long My district (Hau Giang province) informed that rice farmers who suffered damage alongside the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway project have received full compensation from the contractor consortium. In addition, farmers are also advised by the relevant agencies to wash their salinity before planting the new rice crop.
On the same afternoon, speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Phan Duy Lai - Deputy Director of My Thuan Project Management Board - the investor, informed that as of the morning of May 5, all payments had been made to affected households. In addition, the contractor is clearing canals and adjusting solutions to pump sand to prevent water leakage into people's fields.
Previously, on April 22, the Government Office announced that it had just issued Document No. 3458/VPCP-NN conveying the direction of Central Party Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on the situation of dead rice next to the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway.
Considering the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the situation of dead rice next to the Can Tho - Ca Mau expressway, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Construction to direct investors, Project Management Boards and contractors to fully comply with standards, regulations and regulations during the construction of expressways.
Proactively deploy solutions to overcome the situation of saline water leakage from highways and from the use of saline sand to construct expressways that affect people's rice and crops; direct contractors to coordinate with localities to urgently review, count and compensate for damages to people according to regulations.
The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to direct competent authorities to coordinate with localities to guide people to implement salinity washing measures, ensuring that damaged areas can soon be re-growed.
The People's Committee of Hau Giang province directed the competent authorities to review statistics on the area of affected and damaged rice and crops and coordinate with the contractor consortium to urgently compensate for damages to the people according to regulations.
