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Running along the Cho Gao canal

Tien GiangHand-dug 146 years ago, Cho Gao canal is a shortcut to transport agricultural products from the West to Saigon. Now, there is a heavy landslide, hundreds of houses have to be relocated.

In the rainy afternoon, Mr. Vo Van Nguon (Chin Nguon, 75 years old, Hamlet Binh Khuong 2, Binh Phuc Nhut, Cho Gao) stood in front of the old house, which had partially removed the tile roof, leaving only the roof inside the bedroom. kitchen for convenience. Next to his house, the neighbor has demolished the old corrugated iron walled house, and is carrying materials to build a new house hundreds of meters deep into the canal bank.





Old Chinh Nguyen next to the 70-year-old old house is being cleared.  Photo: Hoang Nam

Mr. Chinh Nguyen next to the 70-year-old old house is being cleared. Image: Hoang Nam

The section of Cho Gao canal through Binh Phuc Nhut commune is 4 km long, over 300 houses are being cleared, in order to build embankments to prevent landslides. Standing from the riverbank, you can see the thin green stone dirt road, nearly 3 m wide, many sections are indented by the waves. Every time a truck carrying materials passes, the road vibrates, and each piece of soil falls into the canal. About 3 m from the riverbank, 3-4 m high bushes are planted by people to keep the land from being grabbed by the waves, uprooted and lying idle.

Mr. Chinh Nguyen is a former resident, so far has lived by the Cho Gao canal for 5 years. The wooden house was built by his father, who worked as a boatman, 70 years ago. At the age of fifteen, he followed his father up and down on trains carrying sand, stones and trees from Bien Hoa, Dong Nai, each trip taking more than a day. After 1975, the boating business encountered difficulties, so his family sold boats ashore to work in the fields.

In the old farmer’s memory, in the 70s of the last century, the Cho Gao canal was not as wide as it is now, the houses were quite sparse, periwinkle and nipa trees grew densely, covered with green on both sides. Boats at that time were crowded, but mainly made of wood, only one-third of the current size, so the riverbank erosion was insignificant.

However, after only a few decades, the waves gnawed the shore, the road, the freshwater storage pond and the coconut bank planted by Mr. Chin Ngon to keep the land, now located at the bottom of the canal. The area with the heaviest landslides is 20-50 m deep into the shore. “In the last ten years, the situation of landslides is the most serious, many houses in a year lose tens of meters of land,” he lamented.





Cho Gao canal passing through Cho Gao town seen from above.  Photo: Hoang Nam

Cho Gao canal passing through Cho Gao town seen from above. Image: Hoang Nam

Professor Tran Ngoc Them in the book Vietnamese Culture in the Southwest region pointed out that, from 1700 to 1930, the Southwest region had a total of 41 new canals, from manual to mechanized. In chronological order, Cho Gao canal was dug from 1875 to 1877, equivalent to Cot Co canal (1875) and ranked fourth after Bao Dinh (1705), Thoai Ha (1817), Vinh Te (1824),

Gia Dinh became a communication by author Trinh Hoai Duc recorded before the Cho Gao canal: “The boat from Ben Nghe to the West must follow Ong Lon canal to the downstream of Rach Cat river and then cross Phuoc Loc river (ie Can Giuoc river). ) and Vam Co River to reach Tra River. After that, the boat continued along Ky Hon canal to circle the Tien River and head to the West. However, Ky Hon canal is curved, often dried up, and ships travel. very difficult”.

At this time, the French occupied Cochinchina. Because he wanted to get a lot of rice, then the governor of Cochinchina, Canal Duperré, proposed the idea of ​​digging a canal connecting the Tien and Vam Co rivers to create the shortest waterway from Saigon to the West. The canal was inaugurated on July 10, 1877, 30 m wide and 12 km long. About 11,000 people were mobilized, digging a total volume of about 900,000 m3 with 676,000 working days.





Cho Gao is the lifeline of the canal bringing agricultural products from the West to Ho Chi Minh City.  Graphics: Khanh Hoang

Cho Gao is the lifeline of the canal bringing agricultural products from the West to Ho Chi Minh City. Graphics: Khanh Hoang

Before that, from the end of the 18th century in Binh Phan village, there was a small market beside the river, where people bought and sold rice, called Gao market. From this place, in 1912 the French established Cho Gao district in My Tho province, from here the name Cho Gao canal was born. After the canal, ships traveling between Cho Lon and the West increased rapidly. In 1900, the company Messageries Fluviales put passenger ships into operation.

For nearly 50 years as a water transporter, Mr. Tran Do Liem, Chairman of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Transport Association, likened that “if you consider the Mekong Delta as the stomach, the Cho Gao canal is like the throat and Ho Chi Minh City. is the mouth”.

According to Mr. Liem, there are a few other canals that can replace Cho Gao canal, but only small boats can run. When the road system from the Western provinces to Ho Chi Minh City was not complete, the Cho Gao canal was considered the backbone waterway carrying agricultural products from the West to Ho Chi Minh City, and then spread all over the country.

“For example, an average ton of goods going from the West to Ho Chi Minh City costs 100,000-150,000 VND if going through Cho Gao canal, but traveling by other waterways and by road, this cost will triple.” Mr. Liem said.

Chairman of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Transport Association also said that the Cho Gao canal has not been exploited to its full capacity yet, because the canal bed is still shallow and ships of thousands of tons are limited in movement when the water is low. After the dredging channel is completed, the vessel can run for 24 hours, so the capacity is tripled.





The Cho Gao Canal is currently overloaded, with about 1,800 boats passing by every day.  Photo: Hoang Nam

The Cho Gao canal is currently overloaded, with about 1,800 boats passing by every day. Image: Hoang Nam

After many years of renovation, the existing Cho Gao canal is 28.5 km long, passing through Chau Thanh district (Long An) and Cho Gao district, Go Cong town, Go Cong Tay district, My Tho city (Tien Giang). Every day, about 1,800 ships from 200 tons to 1,000 tons pass through this canal, leading to congestion and landslides on both sides.

Seven years ago, the canal was upgraded in phase one, with a cost of more than 780 billion VND. However, many boats passed through here, and hundreds of landslides occurred on the canal banks, affecting more than 2,000 households.

At the end of last year, the project of dredging and widening the waterway for nearly 10 km, building works to protect the south bank of the canal, bridge and road passing through Binh Phuc Nhut, Binh Phan and Cho Gao townships was promoted. The improved channel is 3.5 m deep and 50 m wide to help ships move smoothly. The locality has compensated and built 5 resettlement areas to stabilize the lives of 600 affected households.

Running along the Cho Gao canal

Cho Gao channel past and present. Video: Material – Hoang Nam

Hoang Nam

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