Certain border areas in Vietnam’s Central Highlands that are facing water shortages are getting a helping hand, as police and military officers have delivered fresh water to drought-stricken residents in recent days.

The military-run Company 72 under the Army Corps 15 has sent tank trucks carrying fresh water to Ia Nan, a border commune in Duc Co District, Gia Lai Province over the past week.

More than 100 households with 400 people in the commune’s Duc Hung Hamlet are confronted by a dearth of fresh water, according to the hamlet’s leader Hoang Van Ga.

Prior to the arrival of these tank trucks, local inhabitants had no choice but to buy fresh water at up to VND100,000 (US$4) per cubic meter for cooking and drinking.

Many affected residents also sought help from families that have well water for bathing and washing.

The supply of fresh water from Company 72 has made their daily lives less challenging, the hamlet head said.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Ha Trong Bao, a director at Company 72, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the firm donates fresh water to Ia Nan every year in the dry season.

This year, the company sends three tank trucks daily containing some 18 cubic meters of fresh water each to Duc Hung Hamlet to help ease the water stress.

Aside from requesting the company to supply free fresh water, the People’s Committee of Duc Co District has earmarked VND150 million ($5,900) for drilling water wells to serve the locals, according to Vu Manh Dinh, chairman at the district administration.

Moreover, a charity organization is considering a plan to build a water storage reservoir and set up a water filtration system in Duc Co.

Residents in the border district of Ea Sup in Dak Lak Province are facing the same fate as lots of wells in their area already dried up due to a months-long heatwave, prompting them to rely on the fresh water supply by police and military forces.

The water shortage has hit more than 100 households across four hamlets in Ea Sup’s Ia R’ve Commune.

Among the affected residents, Lo Van Kieu, 42, and Vy Thi Mun, 55, both expressed their joyfulness when receiving fresh water from the Economic-Defense Unit 737, under the Vietnam People’s Army’s Military Region 5, and the police agency in Ea Sup.

The forces have provided fresh water for Ea Sup for almost one month.

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