VietNamNet Bridge – While the people of Quang Ngai Province have been struggling to survive the water shortage in the summer heat, the locals in Kon Tum Province have been living in the fear that the water overabundance will immerge them one day.

A place thirsty for water

Pointing to the depleted Tra River, Nguyen Nhung, Director of the Quang Ngai Irrigation Works Management Company, said: “This is the area from which water is distributed to irrigation works”.

“It was the river section with the most water. But it has gotten exhausted,” he complained, adding that there is no other better water source that can be found.

“The rice fields along the Tra River’s bank towards the lower course are withering,” he said.

Witnessing the river “dying” because its water has been diverted to the Dakdrinh power plant, the managers of the Quang Ngai Irrigation Works Management Company have travelled on many occasions to the hydropower plant in the upper course to claim the water back. But they returned empty handed, having failed to meet with the plant’s management.

They also sent documents to Dakdrinh Hydropower JSC, owner of the hydropower project, requesting it to discharge water to save the crops in the lower course. But their request has not been satisfied.

“I am afraid the winter-spring crop will suffer a complete loss,” Nhung said.

The people who suffer from “water crisis”

While the people in the lower course of the Tra River struggle with a thirst for much-needed water, the people in the upper course pray they can escape a “water oblivion”.

Hundreds of the households living in the water reservoir area in Kon Plong District of Kon Tum Province and Son Tay District in Quang Ngai Province suffer the constant anxiety that the hydropower dam may burst one day.

They have recently heard repeated bangs and felt a strong shaking occurring in the water-full reservoir area. Dinh Van Quang, Head of the Xo Luong Hamlet in Dak Nen Commune of Kon Plong District, said he feels anxious about the water overabundance.

“Local people get frightened when hearing explosions and seeing houses shaking. They feel helpless and they don’t know if these are the signs of the anger of the God,” he said.

“Many locals have left their home and hidden themselves in the forest. Meanwhile, the crops have failed. We are leading very miserable lives,” he continued.

“Why don’t they (the hydropower plant) discharge water to ensure the safety of local people and save the rice fields in the lower course?” he questioned. “This man has much to eat but that man finds no small piece”.

The Dakdrink hydropower JSC has denied its responsibility for the loud bangs and shaking. In its report to the Kon Plong and Son Tay Districts’ authorities, it said that the explosions were caused by locals trying to catch fish with explosives.

Meanwhile, Dr Cao Dinh Trieu, an expert from the Geophysics Institute has warned that the existence of a system of water reservoirs could be a big threat not only to Quang Ngai Province, but to the whole central region and the Central Highlands.

Dan Viet