In mid-July, the road leading to Tang Phon village, Nam Ke commune, Dien Bien province was almost paralyzed. Prolonged heavy rain in recent days has caused the road to the village to be buried by rocks and soil from the embankment for about 150m, making it impossible for motorbikes to pass.
In particular, to transport construction materials for poor and near-poor households to build houses under the State's support programs, officials and people must use bamboo rafts to cross Nam Cha stream. The bamboo raft has become an unnecessary means of transportation, posing many risks to the people.
After bringing the materials to the other side of the stream, another arduous journey began. Everyone had to move construction materials and walk nearly 2km to get to the village.
Talking to Lao Dong, Mr. Ma A Trung - Head of Tang Phon village - said: "The distance from the center of Nam Ke commune is about 20km. In the dry season, people work together to build temporary bridges to travel, but in the rainy season, there is only a way to go rafts. The road is eroding, there is only a way to walk. The most difficult thing is transporting materials for people's houses".
The rainy season has also become a nightmare for students' way to school. "Children from grades one to five have to go to the center of Quang Lam commune to study. Having to cross the stream by raft is very dangerous" - Mr. Trung said.
According to the Head of Tang Phon village, the biggest dream of 23 households with more than 150 people in the village at this time is simple but also urgent: having a bridge to travel safely and quickly bringing the power grid to the village so that children can study and the people can develop the economy.
Talking to Lao Dong, Mr. Vu Duc Thiep - Vice Chairman of Nam Ke Commune People's Committee - said that the commune has 21 villages, so many villages are facing similar difficulties as Tang Phon.
"The commune is actively mobilizing and propagating so that people do not slow down the progress of housing completion according to national target programs due to difficulties" - Mr. Thiep affirmed.
Mr. Thiep added that for now, the commune has sent officials to the village to grasp the situation, propagate, mobilize and help the people. The survey of the landslide route has also been completed. As soon as the weather is favorable, the commune will mobilize vehicles to transport sand, cement and necessary materials to support households.
In addition to local resources of the people, Nam Ke commune will continue to mobilize union members and youth, coordinate with armed forces in the area to organize campaigns to help people transport materials and build houses, determined not to let the people be affected, ensuring the completion of programs on schedule - Mr. Vu Duc Thiep emphasized.
Previously, as Lao Dong Newspaper reported, in Nam Ke commune, for many years, 57 households with more than 330 people in Huoi Lich 1 village still had to bet their lives on fragile bamboo rafts to cross Nam Cha stream.
This is also the nearest main road (nearly 30km) for people in Huoi Lich 1 village to the center of Nam Ke commune. However, the road to the commune center to trade, solve administrative tasks or go to school for students is cut off by the fierce stream, especially during the rainy season.
