Struggling with drought

A drainage canal is dry in southern Ca Mau Province in the Mekong River Delta which is facing a shortage of water. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hai

According to Dung's urgings, chairmen of provincial People's Committees will be responsible for providing more preventive methods to deal with the effects of drought and guiding the relevant agencies in their localities to set up operation plans for irrigation systems and saving water.

Based on the specific situations in each locality, leaders will need to make suitable adjustments to crops to ensure the highest possible productivity.

They must also ensure enough water is available for domestic use and animal farming.

Dung also said that cities and provinces in the Hong (Red) River Delta must make efficient use of water discharged from reservoirs. Central provinces must implement preventive methods to curb the effects of drought and diseases on crops, and localities in the Mekong River Delta must strictly observe their local situations and apply suitable technical irrigation and cultivation methods to minimise negative effects on crops.

Dung asked the leaders of Mekong River Delta provinces to guide their farmers to limit cultivation of Spring-Summer crops in areas where there is a shortage of water.

According to the order, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for keeping track of weather developments in order to guide water discharge from reservoirs and making other water resource management decisions from lakes and irrigation systems.

Dung asked local People's committees, other relevant ministries and agencies to take responsibility for developing urgent fire prevention and combat measures, adding that local leaders would be responsible for any forest fires in their localities.

To curb forest fires, localities should ensure firefighters are ready to respond quickly. They should also focus on improving people's fire awareness and responsibility and designate areas where the burning of land and forest for cultivation is forbidden.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has forecast a heat wave in the northern and central provinces, with temperatures set to reach up to 35-36 degrees Celsius in the days to come. The water level in the Red River, which is the primary source of irrigation for crops in the northern provinces, has reached a 100-year low.

In the last two weeks, forest fires have destroyed dozens of hectares of forests in Bac Kan, Lao Cai and Kon Tum provinces.

More than 1,700ha of forest in Lao Cai Province's Hoang Lien Forest burned in earlier fires.

Thousands of hectares of forests have been put under high fire alert. — VNS