One of thousands of houses are now much lower than the road outside and not many owners can afford to raise the level of their houses in HCM City.— Photo vnexpress.net

HCM CITY – HCM City’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment has urged the administration to provide relief to people whose houses have been affected by recent road upgrades.

Following recent works, thousands of houses are now much lower than the road outside and not many owners can afford to raise the level of their houses, it said. 

Earlier the Department of Construction had also suggested paying compensation.

If their recommendations are accepted, house owners will get low-interest loans of up to VNĐ500 million (US$22,700) to raise their houses or build new ones depending on the extent of the problem.

According to the environment department, four districts have been affected in this manner, including an estimated 7,315 in District 8 alone where the road is 0.4-1 metre above the floor of the houses.

The construction of the city’s most modern road - Phạm Văn Đồng in Thủ Đức and Bình Thạnh Districts -- has affected hundreds of houses. The road is one metre higher than the houses on average and level with the ceiling in some places.

Trần Thanh Chương, who lives on Tam Bình Street in Thủ Đức District, said after his road was upgraded, his house is now much lower, causing him to fall several times.

Residents in District 6 face the same problem, with many houses a metre below the road.

Huỳnh Minh Hùng, vice chairman of the District 6 People’s Committee, said the district has mobilised all available money from the labour federation fund, poverty reduction fund and women’s association to help locals upgrade their houses.

But of the 617 houses affected, not all have received the money.

Hà Thị Long’s roof in Lò Gốm Street is now only two metres above the street. She can only knock down the house and build a new one, and cannot fix the problem, she lamented.

She and her family members have great trouble getting into and out of the house, and things are even worse when they have to ride a motorbike, she said.

Someone suggested that she should borrow money from the local Women’s Association’s fund, but she discovered that a household could borrow only a few million đồng.

Đặng Tấn Nhơn, whose house is a metre below Lò Gốm Street, said his family has already spent VNĐ100 million (US$4,500) on upgrades. — VNS