 |
A sinkhole appears at a corner of Hong Lac-Hao Nam Street in HCM City's Tan Binh District. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai |
About a hundred phone calls placed by residents during the meeting was added evidence of the lawmakers' responsibility in demanding better performance by the city government, said head of HCM City People's Council Pham Phuong Thao.
Thao said the city department heads were not able to give satisfactory explanations on several issues of concern.
"The city government should work better. Many issues need to be dealt with more quickly. Better co-operation between departments is very important for dealing with problems raised by residents," she said.
Not my fault
Head of the city's Department of Transport Tran Quang Phuong was among officials to receive many questions at the meeting.
Phuong was asked about traffic congestion and 59 sinkholes that recently on the city's roads. Councillor Nguyen Van Bach blamed the department for slack management of several construction sites on the city roads. He suggested the city establish an independent agency to study and assess the problem.
Phuong, however, said his department could not take all responsibility for the problem "There are at least eight agencies involved."
The department took responsibility for 21 of the 59 sinkholes. The others were not caused by road excavation work, he said.
Phuong said more than 1,000km of underground pipelines, geological conditions and uncontrolled ground water exploitation were the main causes of the several potholes and road depressions.
He rejected the accusation that his department had acted irresponsibly, explaining that they had surveyed all of the sinkholes. "We are working with experts in the city to find out the reasons as well as corrective solutions."
Phuong said he could not promise that the similar holes would not appear any more because the city's infrastructure was so old.
Councillor Truong Trong Nghia, who was among several lawmakers that expressed unsatisfaction with the explanation, said he was worried about the quality of life for city residents since the department director could not promise to make the city safe from potholes and depressions.
Falling buildings
A multitude of construction sites in HCM City has led to an abnormal number of road and land collapses, said deputy director of the municipal Department of Construction Nguyen Van Hiep.
In the first half of this year, 11 buildings collapsed or sank, killing a total of 36 people and injuring four others, according to Construction Department statistics.
On top of this, there have been another 57 instances of roads sinking, threatening the safety of drivers.
"People have become worried about the number of holes appearing on roads recently," said Hiep.
The HCM City-Trung Luong Highway sank two months after it was opened to traffic. There are more than a dozen holes endangering the lives of people.
Hiep said downgraded infrastructure, substandard building work, incessant floods and too much traffic were the main causes of the subsidence.
Phan Hung Sanh, a representative of the HCM City Construction, Technology and Science Association, said city authorities should also reduce the exploitation of underground water. — VNS
No comments:
Post a Comment