HÀ NỘI — The slow progress of building and maintaining dykes has caused concerns, with the stormy and rainy season approaching, reported Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper.

According to Nguyễn Danh Hưng, vice chairman of Minh Châu Commune in Hà Nội’s Ba Vì District, the local government has prepared plans to cope with natural disasters this year.

However, a major concern of the commune’s residents is that there have been no concrete measures to cope with land erosion alongside Hồng (Red) River to ensure the safety of lives and properties of 35 households in the area.

Besides, people in the district’s Thuần Mỹ, Cổ Đô, Phú Cường and Đông Quang communes are living in fear in the aftermath of several dyke-related accidents recently.

According to Nguyễn Đình Dần, vice chairman of Ba Vì District, the main concerns stem from the erosion of dykes along the Red River and dams in Cổ Diễm Commune.

The dyke and dam section was one of four key works of Hà Nội. However, the damages so far had not yet repaired, said Dần.

The situation is no different in Mê Linh District.

Only one-third of a project to repair dykes in Đông Cao Village in Tráng Việt Commune has been completed despite the deadline of March.

Due to the slow pace of construction, rains last month further eroded the dykes.

Chu Phú Mỹ, director of the Hà Nội Agriculture and Rural Development Department, told the newspaper that rains and storms last year damaged 61 dykes and dams in 16 districts, but due to a shortage of funds, only 35 could be repaired.

To reduce losses caused by rains and storms, the municipal authority has asked investors to accelerate projects of dyke reinforcement and repair.

Meanwhile, a project to build a sea dyke in Quảng Thái Commune in Quảng Xương District of Thanh Hóa Province has been stopped due to lack of funding.

The project, worth VNĐ180 billion (US$7.9 million), was approved in 2016 with the aim of reducing the erosion and protecting people’s life and property during the stormy season.

After one year, only 400m of the dyke in Quảng Thái Commune was constructed, equal to 20 per cent of the project’s construction items, because of difficulty in ground clearance, according to the online newspaper dantri.com.vn.

The two contractors stopped working on the project last year.

Meanwhile, some 300 households are worried about their safety as the storm season approaches, Tuấn said. — VNS