More than 1,200 martyrs' graves need repair and reconstruction
According to the Department of Home Affairs of Ca Mau province, this agency currently manages and implements preferential policies for more than 185,000 people with meritorious services to the revolution, including more than 31,560 martyrs and more than 4,660 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers.
Besides more than 20,760 sets of martyrs' remains that have been collected and buried at martyrs' cemeteries, the whole province currently has about 5,500 martyrs' graves being cared for by relatives in the family land.
Through review, there are 1,290 martyrs' graves that need to be newly built or repaired. Among them, 83 completely damaged graves need to be newly built and 1,207 graves need to be repaired and upgraded.
Many tombs were built decades ago, even over 60 years ago, and are now seriously degraded. The impact of high tides, land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, flooding and landslides in the Mekong Delta region further increases the risk of damage to the tombs.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, the majority of direct relatives of martyrs are now old or have passed away. Worshiping is transferred to generations of children and grandchildren, while many families have difficult economic circumstances or go to work far away, so they do not have enough financial conditions to repair and restore graves. Therefore, self-funding to restore and care for the martyr's resting place exceeds the capacity of many households.
Each grave can be supported with 20 million VND
The Department of Home Affairs said that supporting the repair and new construction of martyrs' graves buried at home is currently facing obstacles due to the lack of specific regulations on support norms in central documents.
Previously, Ca Mau province (old) used local budgets to support the repair of 494 degraded martyrs' graves. However, Bac Lieu province (old) has not issued a similar policy. After administrative boundaries were merged, the lack of a unified regulation throughout the area created a gap in the implementation process.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, because there is no specific resolution regulating this content, specialized agencies do not have a legal basis to prepare estimates, allocate and finalize funds from the state budget.
To remove difficulties, the Department of Home Affairs proposed that the Provincial People's Committee submit to the Provincial People's Council for promulgation a resolution stipulating specific support policies for martyrs' graves buried at home.
According to the proposal, the support level for building new tomb shells is 20 million VND/tomb/time for cases of complete damage. For tombs that need repair and upgrade, the expected support level is 15 million VND/tomb/time.
At the 3rd session of the 11th Ca Mau Provincial People's Council held on June 10, delegates passed a Resolution related to this issue.
The promulgation of this policy is not only simply to solve the issue of funding, but also an action to deeply concretize the morality of "When drinking water, remember the source", "Gratitude" of the Party Committee, government and people of Ca Mau province towards those who sacrificed their blood and bones for national independence. When passed, the Resolution will be a solid legal backing, helping to end the degradation of more than a thousand martyrs' graves at home, bringing peace of mind to the people.
