The Bach Ma National Park, which straddles the two central provinces of Thua Thien- Hue and Quang Nam, has been closed to tourists for almost two years, reportedly for building roads.
However, a pagoda has been built here without authorization from the authorities after some people claimed to see a vision of the Goddess of Mercy atop Bach Ma peak.
Tran The Lien, head of conservation at the Department of Forest Protection, told Tuoi Tre that construction and other work in protected areas need government approval.
However, if it involves more than 50 hectares, no individual authority or agency can grant approval; only the National Assembly can. The park measures 37,487 hectares now after being enlarged in 2008.
Lien said his office was not notified about the construction either.
The pagoda, on top of the peak, was built by converting a watchtower with a viewing platform meant for tourists to enjoy the view of the mountains and the delta, lagoons, and the East Sea below.
Two stone horses now stand in front along with two statues of the Dharmapala. Inside, the room has been turned into a temple while the staircase leading to the second floor platform has been demolished
The pagoda was ostensibly built after a group of people climbing Bach Ma in 2007 claimed to see an apparition of the Goddess of Mercy.
On the walls are pictures of the apparition, including one showing a halo in a black cloud with the caption “Goddess of Mercy turning into a dragon on Bach Ma holy peak.”
The pagoda reportedly belongs to a nun from the north called Hai Hoa. She installed a Buddha idol a few years ago and has been performing rituals. Metal bells have been cast here since 2009.
There are plans for enlarging the pagoda. The old villas that remain will be renovated and converted into places of worship.
A French engineer discovered the uninhabited forest on the mountain in 1932 and turned it into a resort with 139 villas, hotels, swimming pools and roads. But it soon fell into disuse until, in 1954, the then South Vietnamese government reopened the park.
Huynh Van Keo, director of the park, was however less forthcoming about the pagoda’s illegality and in fact even seemed to be tacitly approving.
“I don’t care if [the legend] is true as long as it touches people’s hearts,” he told Tuoi Tre.
Explosives, deforestation
It seems that the park and the 1493 species of animals that inhabit it face another threat, this one posed by development. The road to Bach Ma peak is being widened from halfway up and your correspondent saw hundreds of trees lying on the ground, some 70 years old, at 1000 meters above sea level.
Animal habitats were being destroyed not only by the logging but also the use of explosives to clear the way to widen the road.
Lien was surprised to know that explosives are being used. Inspectors from his department went to the park last March and only found manual work going on, he said.
Keo said the work is expected to be finished at the end of 2012. There is no choice but to chop down the trees and use explosives, he said.
“If we don’t use explosives, it is impossible to do the work since black granite is very hard. But we are trying to minimize [damages].”
No comments:
Post a Comment