Close-up inside the 'sleeping in shifts' house in District 1

In the center of Ho Chi Minh City, right next to the tallest buildings in Vietnam, are dark, cramped residential areas with a high risk of fire and explosion, where people's living conditions are extremely difficult and inconvenient - Photo: PHUONG NHI

This morning (June 27), District 1 People's Committee held a meeting to invite businesses interested in the Ga Ga market project. Ga Ga market (Cau Ong Lanh ward) is located in Nguyen Thai Hoc - Vo Van Kiet - Yersin block, alley 3 Yersin with 237 market stalls and 35 townhouses.

This is one of the crowded, unsafe residential areas in the center of Ho Chi Minh City but has not been renovated for many years.

At the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Conference held in mid-June, District 1 Party Secretary Duong Anh Duc expressed concern that despite being located right in the city center, District 1 has areas where people live very cramped.

Like the Ga market and Gao market, people live in cramped spaces, with high risk of fire and explosion, and very difficult living conditions. Some families have to sleep in shifts, and some areas are only a few square meters wide but have 4-5 households living there.

One evening in mid-June, when Bitexco building had just turned on the lights, we went to the house of Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Hoa (68 years old) located deep in a narrow, dark alley on Vo Van Kiet Street (District 1) in the Gao market area. Although it is called a house, Ms. Hoa's living space is less than 4 square meters, building a toilet and placing a small table would almost take up all the space. According to Ms. Hoa, the house has never had visitors for more than 50 years because "there is no place to invite guests to sit". Ms. Hoa shyly pointed to the front steps of the house and invited them to sit, while she sat at the edge of the door - Photo: PHUONG NHI

Ms. Hoa said that before 2015, the Gao market was just a bunch of shabby wooden stalls, with no restrooms, and people had to line up to use public restrooms, which was inconvenient in every way. In 2015, a terrible fire from the Gao market spread quickly to the Ga market and then flared up violently, burning down many houses and properties. After the fire, the local government and donors supported many families, including Ms. Hoa's family, to repair their houses. Her 4m2 house was concreted, and a small attic was added. From this small house, Ms. Hoa raised a wife for her children, and then the following generations were born one after another - Photo: THAO LE

The population increased but the house did not get bigger, still only 4 square meters for 5 or 6 people to live in. After that, Ms. Hoa's husband passed away and her daughter-in-law died of cancer. The house now has 4 people living in it, she lives downstairs, her son and two grandchildren live in the wooden attic. All the family's activities take place in front of the house. Cooking outside, eating outside, washing outside and even leaving the car outside. A small gas stove is temporarily placed outside to cook rice. On rainy days in Saigon, the gas stove is "disabled", Ms. Hoa's family can only eat white rice with fermented bean curd - Photo: THAO LE

The house was too small, the furniture was packed tightly, and she couldn't even stretch her legs. After decades of sleeping curled up, Mrs. Hoa suffered from a scoliosis. The doctor advised her to sleep straight, but she could only smile because "her lifelong dream was to sleep with her back straight, but it was impossible." Just like that, Mrs. Hoa and hundreds of other families have been attached to the Gao market for decades - Photo: PHUONG NHI

Pointing to a house of about 3 to 4 square meters a few meters away, Ms. Hoa said that Mr. C's family did not have enough space to sleep. The house was small but had dozens of people living there, so at night Mr. C's family had to split into two groups. The elderly and women were given priority to stay inside the house, while the young men brought chairs out to the main road to sleep - Photo: PHUONG NHI

Pointing to the intersection right next to the wall of her house, Mrs. Hoa told us that this place is the "funeral home" of Cho Gao area. The reason people call it that is because everyone's house in Cho Gao area is narrow, when someone dies, this intersection becomes the place to hold the funeral. Looking up at that intersection, you can't see the sky, only the headlights from Bitexco shining from time to time. Looking at those dazzling lights, Mrs. Hoa sighed: "Who doesn't want to live in a big house, but they don't even dare to dream of it." Having lived her whole life in a 4m2 house, at her old age, she can only follow her fate, just hoping to live out her life - Photo: THAO LE

Chicken and Rice Markets seen from above look like a dark patch in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Faced with this situation, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said that Ho Chi Minh City needs a special solution to decisively resolve inconvenient residential areas, and cannot let people suffer any longer. Mr. Nen requested the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and sectors in each locality to survey, propose breakthrough solutions, and implement special solutions. This existence cannot be accepted any longer - Photo: PHUONG NHI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/can-canh-trong-can-nha-chia-ca-de-ngu-o-quan-1-20240626150230358.htm