VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City’s dwellers sighed with relief when hundreds of brick kilns were relocated out of the residential quarters. However, a new worry has arisen when a series of coal production and trade establishments have mushroomed.

Local residents in Long Binh ward in district 9 of HCM City have been living in pollution caused by the coal dust. Nguyen Xien, which has been built with the city’s budget, has become a “miserable road” because of a lot of potholes generated by the lorries and trucks carrying cargo from the Long Binh port, running fast in residential quarters.

Eating, sleeping with coal

A series of open coal grounds have been piled up on the two sides of the Nguyen Xien road. Though being covered with canvas sheets, the coal still has been exposed to the air and kicks up dust.

Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, who lives on Nguyen Xien road, said she regularly has to sweep the floor every time when a truck passes her house. However, the furnishings are covered with a thick coal dust layer just after some minutes.

In the past, when brick kilns existed, local residents suffered the black suffocated smoke. Nowadays, when coal grounds appear, they have to live together with black dust.

“I feel worried for my children. We have to close the doors all the day and force my children to stay inside the house,” Hoa complained.

Nguyen Thanh Giau, a neighborer of Hoa, also complained that his sugar cane juice shop has very few customers because people fear the coal dust.

Showing the healthcare book of the daughter, Giau complained that the girl has to go to see the doctor nearly every week because she usually has a cough.

“Strong adult men also fall sick because of the coal dusts, let alone a child,” he said.

The residents here not only suffer from the coal dust spread out from the coal grounds, but also have been tortured by the noise from the machines and engines.

Nguyen Thi Gai, an old woman, pointing to the big coal ground which is a canal far from her house, said that she cannot sleep because of the noise from the ground.

“We cannot ask the workers to stop the machines, because they are just hired workers. Meanwhile, we cannot contact the real owners of the coal grounds,” she complained.

Local residents said that the coal grounds have existed for the last two years. The owners of the business premises are the owners of the brick kilns, which were forced to move to other places because they caused the pollution. The owners of the kilns have leased the premises to coal owners for money.

In fact, the coal owners once set up their production bases in Binh Duong province. However, as they faced the strong opposition from the residents there, they have to move to another locality.

Trucks, container vehicles damaging the road

There is only one way for lorries to follow if they want to reach to the Long Binh port. The way has been built with the local budget and reserved for civilian life. However, as there is still no way for lorries to go, the way has been serving lorries and container vehicles for the last many years.

“The way is terribly dusty when it shines, while it gets muddy when it rains,” Giau said.

Ngo Anh Tuan, Deputy Chair of the district 9 people’s committee, has affirmed that the local authorities won’t let any coal production workshop exist in the residential quarters. However, Tuan cannot give the exact answer about when the workshops would be removed.

Since the business licenses were granted by the city’s Planning and Investment Department, it is the department which has the right to revoke the licenses or stop operation.

Source: NLD