The Fountain of Love (Part 2)

Việt Nam•18/09/2023

08:19, 18/09/2023

The construction and expansion of houses, as well as the development of infrastructure serving social life and the people in Buon Ma Thuot City, have caused some streams in this urban area to literally and figuratively "die".

Part 2: The "Stolen" Streams

I felt this most clearly from the Ea Tam stream, which is considered the "main artery" of the urban body of Buon Ma Thuot in organizing living spaces for local residents as well as serving the goals of planning and creating an identity for the city on this plateau.

Lost in the stream's fate

Doc Hoc Stream (Tan Tien Ward), Xanh Stream, and Ea Nuol Stream (Tan Loi Ward) are examples of this. In addition, many other streams such as Ea Tam, Ea Nao… flowing through many suburban and urban communes and wards are increasingly being choked, with many sections no longer recognizable as streams, but rather resembling dark, isolated creeks.

From the Ea Tam bridge (Km5, on Nguyen Van Cu road), where the Ea Tam stream receives additional water from the Ea Nao stream before flowing into the Serepok River, I followed the stream's course to witness and understand more about the fate of this longest and most beautiful stream in the city. Mr. Ama Tet, the head of Ko Sier village (Tan Lap ward), my guide, kept lamenting: People no longer respect the Ea Tam stream; they keep building houses and factories encroaching on the streambed, making many areas so congested that there's no room to breathe. Of course, once construction projects spring up uncontrollably, the consequences are a narrowing of the stream's flow, the loss of the ecosystem (trees, vegetation) that is so precious to the livelihoods of the local people, significantly impacting thousands of households downstream – and this truly haunted Mr. Ama Tet.

The Ea Tam reservoir dam is under construction to improve the habitat of the Ea Tam stream.

Following the Ea Tam stream downstream, Ama Tet pointed out to me the sections of the stream that flowed through the urban area (along Y Nue, Tran Quy Cap, Dang Nguyen Can, and Ami Doan streets), then lamented: The stream, once roaring and rushing…is now just a small, shallow creek. His house is at the end of Ami Doan street, adjacent to this stream – and in the memory of the village chief Ko Sier and the villagers, this was a space where people lived and relaxed after a hard day's work, now forever gone. Instead, on the other side of the stream, as Tran Quy Cap street and the surrounding streets were widened, the Ea Tam stream also began to suffer from the calamities that followed. These are all kinds of waste products from modern life that flow down, causing many sections of the streams to become clogged and blocked, looking no different from public garbage dumps, emitting a pungent odor day and night, polluting the living environment throughout the region, from Kô Siêr hamlet (Tân Lập ward) to Cư Dluê hamlet (Hòa Xuân commune) in the south of Buôn Ma Thuột city.

According to village chief Ama Tét, this situation is becoming increasingly severe, and Kô Siêr village is one of the places bearing the brunt of it. During the dry season, it's stifling, with dust and grime smothered by newly opened roads lined with densely packed houses and offices. On one side, the extended Hùng Vương road, and on the other, the widened Trần Quý Cáp road, have squeezed this once harmonious and picturesque ancient village to the point of being densely packed and rigid, making it difficult for anyone visiting to recognize the peaceful atmosphere of the past with its forests and riverside.

Let the stream "breathe".

Restoring green spaces to the streams in Buon Ma Thuot City, especially the Ea Tam stream, is becoming an increasingly urgent requirement. Creating green spaces along the stream's course is the way to save these streams. Losing this green space, for whatever reason, will lead to many regrettable consequences.

Numerous sewage pipes from urban residential areas discharge into the Ea Tam stream, posing a serious risk of pollution.

Knowing this, but according to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City, Tran Duc Nhat, due to the decreasing availability of suitable land for urban development, many construction projects in the city are forced to focus on areas with steep slopes, following the corridors of existing natural rivers, streams, and lakes. The planning and construction of these projects need to be limited in order to preserve and respect the green spaces along the existing streams, especially Ea Nao and Ea Tam streams, which are considered important and necessary for the goal of developing a modern and distinctive Buon Ma Thuot city. If this idea is strictly adhered to during the city's expansion, dozens of villages along the streams will be preserved and enhanced – from the headwater forests and water sources to their distinctive architecture and culture. Architect Dieu Quang Hung, a member of the Executive Committee of the Dak Lak Architects Association, also acknowledged that the streams here are a sustainable natural green space, something not every city possesses – and this very element will create the identity of Buon Ma Thuot if, in current and future planning and development, the local government always pays attention to rationally exploiting this precious resource. More accurately, don't "turn your back" on the streams, because this ecological element will contribute to creating a very unique face for the city of Buon Ma Thuot. Moreover, the green space from the streams has long (and hopefully will continue to do so in the future) integrated into the lives of the city's residents as a special gift from nature.

With this understanding, the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City has planned to invest over 2,700 billion VND (from ODA funds) in the period 2022-2025 to improve infrastructure along the Ea Nao and Ea Tam streams, aiming to create a distinctive new urban area. Accordingly, along the corridors of these two streams, projects/programs will be implemented to build numerous green parks, public activity areas, and connect them with commercial and service centers. This will not only restore and enhance the green space of the streams but also meet the goal of developing the city in a more harmonious ecological and commercial direction. Many people hope that, once the projects are completed, these streams will not only provide and drain water for thousands of households along the Ea Tu, Tan Lap, Tu An, Ea Tam, Khanh Xuan, and Hoa Xuan areas, but also create a diverse and rich ecosystem that will help residents there to exploit and benefit in many ways: livelihoods, landscape, and environment as it was before.

The People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City has issued a decision approving the detailed planning task and the construction of technical infrastructure for the urban area along the Ea Tam stream corridor (section from Nguyen Van Cu bridge to Ea Tam irrigation lake). The plan will serve as the legal basis for land management and construction, and as the basis for implementing investment projects to expand, clear, and protect the safety corridor and water source of the Ea Tam stream” – (Report of the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City).

Dinh Doi

Source