VietNamNet Bridge – More people are illegally occupying canals in HCM City, but authorities have not carried out the necessary work to stop the violations.

The city Department of Transport has reported 72 cases of illegal canal occupation in the first four months of the year, affecting waterway traffic and worsening flooding in the city.

In District 9, for example, a company expanded their construction to 130sq.m of the Trau Trau Canal.

Construction carried out by a group of residents living near the Ba Trieu Canal in Hoc Mon District has narrowed the canal to 2m from 10m.

Canal occupation for construction space occurs at nearly every canal, according to the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The department said the canal area around the city had decreased in size by 400ha over the last three years.

Recently, city authorities asked agencies to tighten the management of construction along the canal banks to ensure that traffic flows easily on canals.

But the agencies said district and ward authorities at the locations of violators had not helped them deal with the violators.

Since the beginning of the year, inspectors from the city Riverway Management Unit have discovered 30 violations and have sent reports to ward authorities.

The authorities, who have the right to stop violators, did not reply to the unit, and had even let other violations occur.

Phan Hoang Tri, head of the Riverway Management Unit, recommended that the city enact tough measures to deal with the violations, especially because the canal banks are at risk of collapse during the rainy season.

He also suggested a comprehensive plan for dredging the waste and soil deposits in the canal system.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News