Illegal sand exploitation of the Hau River that flows through Can Tho city in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has reached alarming levels. Subterfuge tactics used by the thieves make it difficult for local authorities to curb this practice, they add.
Over the last few months, the city’s police department has found hundreds of barges carrying sand from the river section every day.
On July 2, police in the city’s Thot Not district found 40 barges that were illegally exploiting sand in the district’s section of the Hau river.
In June, the district’s police in co-operation authorities carried out 17 inspections in the Thot Not section and discovered 54 violations of regulations, including vessels operating without a captain or a sand-dredging licence, overloading and taking sand from banned areas.
Night thieves
The police said that most of barges committed their illegal acts between 10pm and 5am to avoid detection and intervention by agencies and residents.
Moreover, companies that have been issued with sand-dredging licenses provided copies to barges that they had not registered with the authorities in order to avoid fines.
Cell phones were also used to warn barges of inspectors in the area.
Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Thanh Chien, head of the waterway police office in Can Tho City, said they found many sand barges and boats had no licenses and owners were not present on site.
However, workers hired to dredge sand refused to sign papers recording their violations, making it more difficult for authorities to deal with them.
Nguyen Thanh Dung, chairman of the Thot Not District People’s Committee, said that sandlots around Tan Loc Island in the district were also being over-exploited. "If relevant authorities do not find a way to prevent this, I am worried that the island would collapse from erosion and landslides," he said.
Sandlots in Con Son Island’s Binh Thuy district have also been exploited heavily by many foreign and domestic barges and boats since May. Erosion is already serious on the island and the situation will get worse if the exploitation continues, local officials said.
Export driven
Most of the sand exploited from the Hau river is exported to other countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Exploitation increased exponentially after the Cambodian government banned sand exports about two months ago in order to ensure domestic supply and protect the local environment.
After the Cambodian government’s ban, the Hau river was targeted by hundreds of barges.
Chien estimated that at least between 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes of sand are exploited every day from the stretch of the Hau river that flows through Can Tho city.
Landslide fear
The overexploitation is likely to cause environmental pollution and landslides, he said, adding it could also change the river’s flow.
Le Viet Hung, deputy head of Can Tho City Police, said that it is not difficult to regulate the issuing of licenses, sand exploitation and trading.
The problem is whether or not relevant agencies dare to duly punish people exploiting sand who are relatives of local authorities.
Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy chairman of the Can Tho City People’s Committee, agreed with Hung, saying relevant authorities need to strictly impose heavy fines on people violating sand exploitation regulations without exception.