After a serious accident at Tan Long banana market (othering National Highway 9 - Provincial Road 586, Lao Bao Commune, Quang Tri Province) that killed 3 people, the local government has determined to stop the situation of market meetings encroaching on the road. From September 18, this area will no longer have the bustling banana trading scene as before.
Partly because people were haunted by the accident, partly because the authorities regularly checked and prevented banana trucks from stopping and illegally trading. However, due to the lack of a replacement location, many banana growing households are still forced to stop their vehicles on Provincial Road 586 to wait for traders to buy.
Mr. Ho Van Dung (residing in lia commune, Quang Tri province) shared that bananas are the main source of income for his family. Previously, he often sold at intersections, now he has to drift onto provincial roads, making business more difficult.
"Without a gathering place, we still have to take the bananas out to sell, waiting for traders to come buy them" - Mr. Dung said.
According to Mr. Tran Dinh Dung - Chairman of the People's Committee of A Doi commune, many households in the commune grow bananas, so they have long concentrated near National Highway 9 for trading. After the accident, people moved to display on both sides of Provincial Road 586, but the risk of traffic insecurity is still high.
"In the immediate future, the commune only propagates and reminds but has not punished, because there is no suitable location to serve business" - Mr. Dung said.
To resolve the difficulties, on the afternoon of September 19, Lao Bao Commune People's Committee surveyed and selected a land area of about 1ha in Bich La Dong village as a temporary banana gathering point.
Mr. Tran Anh Vu - Chairman of Lao Bao Commune People's Committee said that on September 20, the commune will notify the people and traders that next week, all purchases and sales will be moved to a new location to ensure safety. At the same time, the commune is promoting procedures to build a long-term banana market right next to this land.
It is known that Lao Bao and lia communes are key areas for growing honeycomb bananas in Quang Tri province, with an area of thousands of hectares. The spontaneous "banana market" at the intersection of National Highway 9 - Provincial Road 586 has existed for more than 10 years, and has been proposed many times to build an official market, but it has not yet become a reality.
