VietNamNet Bridge - At an emergency meeting in the afternoon of October 27, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Province – Mr. Pham Truong Tho - explained that people blocked Highway 1A for several hours, causing traffic jams because of a “misunderstanding."

Quang Ngai: People block highway to protest sand exploiter

In pictures: Hundreds protest sand dredging, which causes coastal erosion

Traffic on the Highway 1A through Quang Ngai province was still congested in the afternoon of October 28.

Tho said on September 22, the province asked two companies, including Truong Phat Loc, to temporarily stop dredging the passage and collect sand for export to fix the erosion of the coast of Nghia An commune, Tu Nghia district, which was caused by sand exploitation.

On October 17, the province asked the districts of Tu Nghia and Son Tinh to combine with these companies to dredge the estuary in these districts, not the Phu Tho estuary in Nghia An commune, which has been filled. In the afternoon of October 26, three workers of Truong Phat Loc went to the Nghia An border station for paperwork, at the same time with the appearance of some foreign ships. Local people “misunderstood” that the local authorities allowed these firms to exploit sand again so they “kept” the three workers and blocked the highway to protest.

"By this time the province has yet to allow sand mining in this area. To enable fishermen go out to the sea, the authorities only plan to dredge the passage inside the harbor that has been filled. In the coming time, we will consider building embankments or dykes to ensure a stable life for Nghia An people," Tho committed.

An official of Quang Ngai Provincial Police Agency said that around 600 people seized three workers of Loc Truong Phat Joint Stock Company when they came to Nghia An border guard station for paperwork, and took these workers to block Highway 1A.

"The illegal arrest of the three workers and block of National Highway 1A for many hours of the people seriously violated the law," said a police official.

Quang Ngai Party Secretary – Mr. Vo Van Thuong directly talked with the people who blocked the highway in the afternoon of October 27. By 6pm of the same day, the traffic on National Highway 1A resumed.

On the morning of October 28, Thuong again met with Nghia An people. At the meeting, local people expressed their concern over the project to dredge the local passage which caused severe erosion to the local coast.

According to them, this is the project to dredge the estuary but during the last two weeks, the estuary was completely filled, hundreds of fishing boats could not go offshore while erosion was serious, damaging many shrimp ponds. They asked the local government to stop this project.

They admitted that their acts of arrest of three workers of Loc Truong Phat Joint Stock Company and blocking National Highway 1A were wrong, but they said that only “running risk” like that the province would soon clear the passage and build dikes to protect the coast.

Quang Ngai Party Secretary Vo Van Thuong committed that the Dai estuary would be cleared and embankments would also be been soon to protect the people.

Thuong also promised to pay compensation for those whose shrimp lakes were damaged by erosion and to provide allowances of VND10-20 million for each fishing boat.

Le Ha