In light of the issue, naval soldiers under Naval Command Region 5 brought fresh water in such areas with a bid of helping the local residents.
Under the direction of Vietnamese Naval, Naval Command Region 5 assigned two ships under Naval Squadron 511, Brigade 127 to transport 90 cubic metres of fresh water from An Thới- Phú Quốc Island to Tiên Hải Island Commune, Hà Tiên town, Kien Giang Province last Saturday.
"We regard this as our responsibility, pride and honour. After 4 return trips, we have supplied over 300 cubic metres of waters to local residents. If the drought continues, we’ll keep providing them with more water." - Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Duyen, Naval Squadron 511, Brigade 127.
Tiên Hải Island Commune consists of 16 islands, 6 of which are inhabited with nearly 330 households with over 1,300 persons. Over the last few months, fresh water has proved increasingly scarce. Dwellers have to purchase fresh water at the price of over 5-7 US dollars a cubic metre. The residents are obviously delighted to have been provided with free water from Regional Naval Command.
"We’ve faced water shortages on the island. The water reservoirs have ran out of water. With the support of the Naval Command Region 5, we now have water for daily activities." - Phan Hong Phuc, Vice Chairman, Tien Hai People’s Committee, Ha Tien Town, Kien Giang Province.
"We have run out of water to use. I am happy and grateful to Naval Command Region 5." - Nguyen Thi Dinh, Tien Hai Commune, Ha Tien Town, Kien Giang Province.
As planned, from now to Wednesday, Naval Command Region 5 will direct 2 to 4 return visits by ships to transport fresh water to Tien Hai Island Commune. In April, Navy Command Region 5 already transported 210 cubic metres of fresh water to support local residents.
