Man gives in after refusing to demolish house for 20 years

83-year-old Do Thanh Hung, whose family owns a house that sits in the middle of Vo Van Kiet Street in Bac Lieu City, on Tuesday willingly dismantled several parts of the house, including fences and trees, to clear an area spanning over 300 square meters and hand it over to authorities.

The People’s Committee of Ward 1 had sent personnel to help the family dismantle the structures, while aiding them with VND300 million ($12,668) from the social security fund.

Around 200 m away from the location, another house owned by local Nguyen Thi Huong was also blocking the street, and authorities persuaded her family to clear the house and hand over the area for road construction.

The two aforementioned houses were in the way of an expansion project for Vo Van Kiet Street, spanning 2km in length and 30m in width.

The project began over 20 years prior, affecting 62 families in the area. Two families however did not agree with the terms, meaning their land could not be cleared and their houses remained in the middle of the road.

Chairman of the Bac Lieu People’s Committee Pham Van Thieu said compensation for land clearance would be carried out with the people’s interests in mind, but people still had to abide by the law.