The Fountain of Love (Part 2)

08:19, September 18, 2023

The construction and expansion of houses as well as technical infrastructure serving social life and 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 feel that most clearly from the Ea Tam stream, which is considered the "main artery" of the urban body of Buon Ma Thuot in organizing living space for local residents as well as serving the planning goals and creating identity for this city on the plateau.

Lost in the stream

Doc Hoc Stream (Tan Tien Ward), Xanh Stream, Ea Nuol Stream (Tan Loi Ward) are proofs of that. In addition, many other streams such as Ea Tam, Ea Nao... flowing through many suburban and inner-city communes and wards are increasingly being suffocated, with many sections that people can no longer recognize as streams, but instead look like black and out-of-place creeks.

From Ea Tam bridge (Km5, on Nguyen Van Cu street), where Ea Tam stream receives water from Ea Nao stream to continue pouring into Serepok river - I followed that stream to witness and understand more about the fate of the longest and most beautiful stream in this urban area. Mr. Ama Tet - Head of Ko Sier village (Tan Lap ward), who guided me, kept complaining: People no longer respect Ea Tam stream, they keep building houses and factories encroaching on the streambed, making many places so stuffy that there is no room to breathe. Of course, once construction projects are built in an uncontrollable state, the consequence is that the stream is narrowed, the ecosystem (trees, vegetation) which is precious to the livelihood of the local people is also gone, significantly affecting thousands of households living downstream - and that really haunted Mr. Ama Tet.

undefinaThe Ea Tam Lake dam is under construction to improve the Ea Tam stream habitat. ed

Following the Ea Tam stream, Ama Tet showed me the streams that passed through the heart of the city (on Y Nue, Tran Quy Cap, Dang Nguyen Can, Ami Doan streets) and then lamented: The stream that was once noisy and flowing… is now just a small and shallow stream. His house is at the end of Ami Doan street, adjacent to this stream - and in the memories of the village chief Ko Sier as well as the villagers, this was a space for people to live and relax after a hard day's work, now it has disappeared forever. Instead, on the other side of the stream, when Tran Quy Cap street and the streets were expanded, the Ea Tam stream also began to suffer the calamities that came. These are all kinds of waste products from civilized and modern life that flow down, causing many streams to become congested and blocked, looking no different from public garbage dumps, emitting a strong odor day and night, polluting the living environment throughout the region, from Ko Sier village (Tan Lap ward) to Cu Dlue village (Hoa Xuan commune) in the south of Buon Ma Thuot city.

According to the village chief Ama Tet, the above situation is happening with increasing intensity and Ko Sier village is one of the places that suffers the consequences. In the dry season, it is stuffy, dust is thrown down from the newly opened roads with houses and offices already densely packed. On one side is the extended Hung Vuong street, on the other side is the expanded Tran Quy Cap street, which has tightened this ancient, harmonious, poetic village to the point of being so dense and dry that anyone who comes here will find it difficult to recognize the original space with the forest and the peaceful water wharf.

Let the stream "breathe"

Returning green space to streams in Buon Ma Thuot City, especially the Ea Tam stream, is becoming an increasingly urgent need. Creating green space along the flow corridor is a way to save the streams here. Losing this green space, for whatever reason, will lead to many unfortunate consequences.

Many wastewater discharge pipes from urban residential areas into Ea Tam stream, causing serious pollution risk.

Knowing that, but according to the view of Vice Chairman of Buon Ma Thuot City People's Committee Tran Duc Nhat, due to the increasingly limited land fund for urban development, many construction projects in the city must be directed to areas with large slopes, following the corridors of natural rivers, streams, and lakes. The planning and construction of these projects must be limited to preserve and respect the green space on existing streams, especially Ea Nao and Ea Tam streams, which are considered important and necessary highlights for the goal of developing a modern and unique Buon Ma Thuot city. If that idea is strictly followed in the process of expanding the city, dozens of villages along the streams will be preserved and embellished - from the headwater forest space, water wharves to the architecture and unique culture. Architect Dieu Quang Hung - Member of the Executive Committee of the Dak Lak Architects Association also acknowledged that the source stream here is a sustainable natural green space, which not every urban area possesses - and that is the factor that will create the identity of Buon Ma Thuot if in current and future planning and development, the local government always pays attention to the reasonable exploitation of this precious resource. To be more precise, do not "turn your back" on the streams, because that ecological factor will contribute to creating a very unique face for Buon Ma Thuot city. Moreover, the green space from the streams has long been (and hopefully in the future) integrated into the lives of residents in this urban area as a privilege bestowed by nature.

With the above awareness, the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City has planned to invest over 2,700 billion VND (from ODA capital) in the period of 2022 - 2025 to renovate the infrastructure of the Ea Nao stream and Ea Tam stream corridors to create a new urban area with rich identity. Accordingly, along the corridors of these two streams, there will be projects/programs to build many green parks, public activity areas, linked with commercial and service centers to not only restore and embellish the green space for the streams, but also meet the goal of urban development in a more harmonious ecological - commercial direction. Many people hope that once the projects are completed, those streams will not only supply and drain water for thousands of households along the Ea Tu, Tan Lap, Tu An, Ea Tam, Khanh Xuan, Hoa Xuan areas, etc., but also create a diverse and rich ecosystem that helps residents there exploit and benefit from many aspects: livelihood, 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 construction of technical infrastructure for the urban area along the Ea Tam stream corridor (from Nguyen Van Cu bridge to Ea Tam irrigation lake). The planning will be the legal basis for land management, construction and the basis for implementing investment projects to build works to expand, clear, protect the safety corridor, and protect the water source of Ea Tam stream" - (Report of the People's Committee of Buon Ma Thuot City).

Dinh Doi

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