China's dam to help relieve drought in Vietnam

Wearing a crumpled cap and no shoes or sandals, Vietnamese farmer Vo Van Chien with a weather-beaten face is sitting barefoot on his bone-dry rice paddy, cutting waning rice plants, and saying, If only water released from China's Jinghong dam could arrive here soon."

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the ongoing drought and saltwater encroachment in the Mekong Delta have made some one million people suffer from short-age of water for domestic use and caused losses of around 700,000 tons of rice. Moreover, the shortage of running water has forced many residents to buy water transported by big boats and barges from rivers in neighboring provinces which are facing less severe saltwater encroachment.

“Besides the exorbitant price, I have to spend another 100,000 Vietnamese dong hiring a tricycle to transport river water to my house. This is the first time in my life, I have had to buy river water for domestic use,” a 70-year-old woman named Nguyen Thi Lua told Xinhua, adding that her extended family lives in Ben Tre City in Ben Tre Province.

In Ben Tre’s rural coastal areas, residents have had to buy freshwater from deep wells at prices of between 150,000-200,000 Vietnamese dong (6.7-8.9 U.S. dollars) per cubic meter. Meanwhile, one cubic meter of running water costs only 7,000- 8,000 Vietnamese dong (around 0.3 U.S. dollars).

In order to help alleviate drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, China has decided to release emergency water supply from Jinghong Hydropower Station in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, to downstream Mekong River from March 15 to April 10. According to calculations by the Mekong River Committee, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will receive some 27 percent to 54 percent of water discharged from Jinghong dam.

On Sunday, still clutching his sickle to cut dying paddy rice plants to feed his cattle, and standing in the middle of his bone-dry rice pad-dy, Vo Van Chien said, “Television said water released from the Jing-hong dam to the Mekong River will flow to Vietnam’s border on April 4. I hope that at that time, I can save part of my paddy field.”

Sitting in her air-conditioned room in Ben Tre City, another Vietnamese farmer Nguyen Thi Lua said, “It will not rain soon. So, if water released from China’s dam comes here, even if there is no rain, the water will help ordinary people like us to save rice fields, and cut costs on water for domestic use and on animal feeds, making our daily life better.”

“Water released from Jinghong dam had already arrived in Laos and was some 800 km away from Viet-nam’s border. When the water arrives in Vietnam, expected on April 4, it will drive the saltwater encroachment some 20 km back to the sea, and Vietnamese provinces along Tien and Hau rivers will benefit directly from the water released from the Jinghong dam.” Agriculture minister Cao Duc Phat said At a government meeting on March 26 in Hanoi.

Chinas dam to help relieve drought in Vietnam

Wearing a crumpled cap and no shoes or sandals, Vietnamese farmer Vo Van Chien with a weather-beaten face is sitting barefoot on his bone-dry rice paddy, cutting waning rice plants, and saying, If only water released from Chinas Jinghong dam could arrive here soon. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the ongoing drought and saltwater encroachment in the Mekong Delta have made some one million people suffer from short-age of water for domestic use and caused losses of around 700,000 tons of rice. Moreover, the shortage of running water has forced many residents to buy water transported by big boats and barges from rivers in neighboring provinces which are facing less severe saltwater encroachment. Besides the exorbitant price, I have to spend another 100,000 Vietnamese dong hiring a tricycle to transport river water to my house. This is the first time in my life, I have had to buy river water for domestic use, a 70-year-old woman named Nguyen Thi Lua told Xinhua, adding that her extended family lives in Ben Tre City in Ben Tre Province. In Ben Tres rural coastal areas, residents have had to buy freshwater from deep wells at prices of between 150,000-200,000 Vietnamese dong (6.7-8.9 U.S. dollars) per cubic meter. Meanwhile, one cubic meter of running water costs only 7,000- 8,000 Vietnamese dong (around 0.3 U.S. dollars). In order to help alleviate drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, China has decided to release emergency water supply from Jinghong Hydropower Station in southwestern Chinas Yunnan province, to downstream Mekong River from March 15 to April 10. According to calculations by the Mekong River Committee, Vietnams Mekong Delta will receive some 27 percent to 54 percent of water discharged from Jinghong dam. On Sunday, still clutching his sickle to cut dying paddy rice plants to feed his cattle, and standing in the middle of his bone-dry rice pad-dy, Vo Van Chien said, Television said water released from the Jing-hong dam to the Mekong River will flow to Vietnams border on April 4. I hope that at that time, I can save part of my paddy field. Sitting in her air-conditioned room in Ben Tre City, another Vietnamese farmer Nguyen Thi Lua said, It will not rain soon. So, if water released from Chinas dam comes here, even if there is no rain, the water will help ordinary people like us to save rice fields, and cut costs on water for domestic use and on animal feeds, making our daily life better. Water released from Jinghong dam had already arrived in Laos and was some 800 km away from Viet-nams border. When the water arrives in Vietnam, expected on April 4, it will drive the saltwater encroachment some 20 km back to the sea, and Vietnamese provinces along Tien and Hau rivers will benefit directly from the water released from the Jinghong dam. Agriculture minister Cao Duc Phat said At a government meeting on March 26 in Hanoi.