The hard work of dredging mud

Diving to dredge mud from the bottom of ponds and tunnels

Go diving from dawn

At dawn, when the rooster crows, it is also the time when people who are dredging mud from the bottom of ponds and pits wake up early to prepare for a new day full of aspirations. Only when you visit the countryside early in the morning can you truly feel the peace and tranquility. In the countryside, people wake up early to go to the fields to plant rice and raise fish. The day we stopped by the ponds and pits in Phu Binh and Hoa Lac communes (Phu Tan district), we saw fishermen feeding their fish and accidentally saw people struggling to hold their breathing tubes and then diving under the water. When we asked the fish farmers, we learned that they are people who specialize in dredging mud from the bottom of ponds and pits for hire. It is very difficult to talk to them. Because each dive lasts up to 4 hours before they can resurface.

Since the movement of raising catfish in ponds and tanks for export has developed, and then the model of raising snakehead fish has become quite popular in rural areas, the need for fishermen to dredge the mud at the bottom of the pond has increased. According to people, during the process of feeding fish, fish excrement settles in the pond, accumulating into young mud over time. If not dredged thoroughly, the fish are susceptible to disease, leading to loss. Each fish farming period requires dredging the bottom of the pond 2-3 times. Therefore, the profession of diving to dredge the bottom of ponds and tanks has been popular until now. Initially, many households invested in buying mud suction machines, then hired young men in the village to help. Or there are families with many children and no land for production, but also boldly invested in machinery and equipment to dive for hire. Currently, people who dive to dredge mud at the bottom of ponds not only operate in the province, but also roam throughout the Mekong Delta. Wherever there is aquaculture, they come and go to take on the job of dredging mud from ponds and tanks.

Later, transporting the machinery over long distances was very difficult, so they negotiated with the mine owner, only dredging mud and then receiving wages. The mine owner equipped the machinery himself, so the divers had less trouble when working far away. We sat and talked with the fish mine owner for a long time, but we still did not see the diver who had dredged the bottom of the pond rise to the surface. We lingered and lay down on the hammock to continue waiting. The sun was at its zenith, the blazing sun was shining down, and Le Van Tung (43 years old) surfaced. The diesel engine was roaring, spewing smoke far away, blowing the air tank on the water surface, Tung quickly swam over to turn it off. The space suddenly became completely silent, and we began to ask about the diving profession.

Hope children change their lives

Just stepping into the camp, Tung's clothes were still wet, his eyes were red. Rubbing his eyes a few times to see his face clearly, Tung said, from dawn he started diving with his snorkel until noon. Many times he was so engrossed in diving that by the time he surfaced, it was already afternoon. Although diving with a machine now, dredging the mud at the bottom of the pond is very tiring. At a depth of 6 - 7m, divers have to move constantly. At the bottom of the dark water, they aim to go in the right direction, touching the mud with their hands and pulling the pump to suck it up. Each time they dive at the bottom, they "breathe" for about 4 hours before coming up to rest and then diving again. “It’s so tiring! Each dive sucks up about 4 cubic meters of mud. Staying underwater for a long time makes me feel cold to the bone, the space is pitch black, I can’t see anything. When I first started working, I often missed out on mud, so the mine owner was not satisfied. But now I’m used to diving, I do it with all my heart, so the mine owner trusts me,” said Mr. Tung.

In addition to diving in his hometown, Mr. Tung also went to Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Vinh Long provinces and Co Do district ( Can Tho city ) to receive work dredging tra fish ponds for fishermen. During the long trip, Mr. Tung also brought his belongings to the place where he lived and worked for more than a month before returning home. Last month, he received a phone call from the owner of the pond in Vinh Long province, with a total salary of 20 million VND. After the two sides agreed, he packed his bags and went to the place to dredge the bottom of the pond for the fishermen. After working for about a month, he returned to his hometown to continue diving and dredging the bottom of the ponds and ponds for the people. For each large pond, Mr. Tung received a salary of 15 - 20 million VND. For a smaller pond, he received a salary of 80,000 VND per hour. On average, he dived 10 hours a day, receiving a salary of 800,000 VND.

Mr. Tung shared that although the job of diving at the bottom of the tunnel is hard, the income is quite good. The farther the work, the more money you get, because there is no one there to do it. Every time I go down to collect mud, the tunnel owner is very happy! Seeing Mr. Tung's meticulous work, many tunnel owners call to ask him to continuously dig and dredge the bottom of the pond and tunnel. "I have been doing this job for 10 years. Thanks to the job of dredging the bottom of the pond and tunnel, my life is stable and I can send my children to school. But in the long run, diving deep into the water affects my health. After days of diving, my body is eaten by the water, causing itching all over, burning pain and discomfort. My eyes gradually weaken, and my nose is often inflamed" - Mr. Tung expressed.

As the sun sets, the divers surface, their bodies drenched, their limbs dented and cold, they quickly return home after many hours submerged in the water. For the sake of survival, they work hard to earn money to send their children to school so that they can change their lives in the future...

Previously, Tung's family's situation was difficult. At that time, there were only a few people in the neighborhood who worked as tunnel dredging workers, so it was very expensive. Seeing that, Tung learned and invested in buying an oil machine, air hose, water hose... costing nearly 20 million VND. "When I first started my career, I didn't know how to dive, so I practiced holding an air hose and diving deep into the tunnel. Right at that moment, a loud "pop..." sound in my ear hurt like hell! But because of my family life, I encouraged myself, then actively "trained hard" for more than 2 weeks to get into the profession. Most people who enter this profession have perforated eardrums and deafness before they can dive at depth" - Tung explained.

LUU MY

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nhoc-nhan-nghe-lan-vet-bun-a418534.html