Residents of Tam Kỳ City's Tân Thạnh District in this central province yesterday obstructed Nguyễn Văn Trỗi Road to prevent the passage of trucks carrying soil and rocks.

Residents place a tree trunk to prevent the passage of trucks carrying soil and rocks. — Photo dantri.com.vn

Tree trunks and used tyres were used to barricade the road.

The residents blamed the vehicles for scattering soil on the roads and increasing the risk of traffic accidents.

The incident lasted nearly 2 hours, causing a traffic jam that stretched hundreds of metres.

Nguyễn Đinh Thảo, a local resident, said hundreds of vehicles travelled at high speed on the road every day. The drivers do not cover their vehicles with canvas, so soil scatters on the road and dust flies into the houses, he said.

Local residents have reported the issue to local authorities, but the problem has not yet been resolved.

Over the past few months, locals have struggled with pollution from trucks carrying building materials for the construction of Đà Nẵng–Quảng Ngãi Highway and Tam Thắng Industrial Zone. The problems worsened after Tết.

"The trucks operate all day and night, blowing their loud horns. Besides causing pollution, they pose a danger to the local people because the drivers drive too fast in densely populated areas," Hoang Thanh Tung, another resident, said.

As soon as the locals stopped the vehicles, the traffic police of Tam Kỳ City arrived on the scene to inspect the overloaded vehicles. However, some vehicles had turned off onto other roads to avoid inspection.

In response to the people's reaction, transportation firms dispatched water spraying trucks to minimise the dust, but this action was not accepted as sufficient by the locals.

After several hours of negotiations between car owners and the local residents, the latter agreed to let the vehicles pass under the condition that drivers slow down and stop using their horns when travelling on that road.

This is the first time that people have blocked trucks carrying building materials used in the construction of major city projects for causing environmental and noise pollution.

Earlier, on Thursday morning, many people in Tam Kỳ City's Tam Ngọc Commune also blocked vehicles carrying materials for the construction of Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Expressway and Tam Thắng Industrial Zone, asking transport firms not to pollute the environment or drive too fast. 

VNS