Illegal landfills block flood drainage

A survey done by the Hanoi Irrigation, Storm and Flood Prevention division shows that 183 of 220 landfills in the city are operating illegally, a Tien Phong (Vanguard) report quoted the department as saying. 

This means that some 1,400ha of 1,500ha of construction landfills are being exploited illegally.

Among the 37 landfills that are operating with licences, violations of license provisions were seen at 13 landfills, the newspaper reported.

It said overloaded trucks could be seen traveling along dykes to transport construction waste to and from some 80 landfills.

Large amounts of construction waste have been gathered and transported within the flood drainage routes of the Da, Duong and Hong (Red) rivers in six districts – Gia Lam (33 construction landfills), Tu Liem (28), Dong Anh (23) and Ba Va (18), as well as Hoang Mai (17) and Son Tay (16).

Director of the irrigation division, Do Duc Thinh, said this illegal gathering and transporting of construction waste was damaging the dykes, embankments and riverbanks, creating favourable conditions for landslides and environmental pollution.

Some construction landfills were throwing construction waste and installing steel poles in the rivers, obstructing the river flow and flood drainage routes, he said.

In addition, a number of landfill owners were violating the Law on Mineral Resource Management and Exploitation in gathering black sand of unclear origins, Thinh added.

Tran Van Nhan, a resident living near a construction landfill in Thuong Tin district’s Van Diem commune, said that he and other residents were familiar with overloading vehicles transporting building waste in and out of the landfill for years.

Nhan said local residents have reported this to the district authority many times, but the situation has not improved.

The same situation prevails in Phu Xuyen district.

Nguyen Quang An, deputy head of the district’s Economics Sub-department, said that the district’s authorized agencies have strengthened inspections along the 16km -long dyke, but it was not effective as truck drivers usually informed each other and shifted to the Hoa Mac-Dong Van route instead of the dyke road.

Meanwhile, as many as 18 locations in the capital city are at risk of inundation in Ba Vi, Phuc Tho, Dan Phuong, Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen, Long Bien and Soc Son districts since the city’s drainage system is overloaded, the Hanoi Sewerage and Drainage Limited Company has warned.

The city has chalked out plans to actively prevent flooding at these locations.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan Thanh of the Ha Noi Police Department said that they would launch campaigns focused on deterring violations on dyke systems, such as illegal sand exploitation and the plying of overloading trucks.

He said that it was necessary to install traffic signals to restrict the overloading of trucks and protect the dyke routes.