There is a new Dong Thanh!

The following article is written by an elderly author with the pen name Truong Son, living in Yen Thanh district. He has been a regular reader of Nghe An Newspaper for many years. Although he is 91 years old this year, his spirit and intelligence are still very sharp. Every day, Mr. Truong Son diligently reads the newspaper and follows current events. Nghe An Newspaper sincerely thanks Mr. Truong Son for following and collaborating. Wishing him good health!

Dong Thanh is a mountainous commune in the northwest of Yen Thanh district, 7km from the town and 62km from Vinh city. The commune has a natural area of ​​3,082.24 hectares, of which 2/3 are hills and mountains. The population is 2,160 households with 8,500 people. In the middle of the commune, there are 6 large and small limestone cliffs. The largest is Co cliff with an area of ​​55 hectares, 254 meters above sea level. At the foot of the cliff was formerly the base of Nguyen Xuan On in the anti-French scholar movement.Vu Ky PassLocated in the North of the commune, the area of ​​25 hectares stretches nearly 1km, looking from afar like a giant dragon. In Vu Ky cliff, there is Thien Tao pagoda, jade well, money cave, rice cave. At the end of 1929, the first branch of the Indochinese Communist Party of Nghe Tinh province was born here. In the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, on November 7, 1930, a large number of people in Dong Thanh commune participated.

Len Vu Ky is located in the border area between Dong Thanh and Phuc Thanh communes (Yen Thanh). Photo: Huy Thu

Pride of revolutionary land

On June 26, 1939, Yen Thanh District Party Committee held a meeting at Tien Ky communal house to establish an anti-imperialist youth group to propagate and mobilize people to prepare in all aspects to seize power when the opportunity came. From then on, the patriotic movement of the people of Dong Thanh commune grew day by day. On September 18, 1945, the first Party cell in Dong Thanh commune was established with 9 comrades, with comrade Luong Can as Secretary.

On August 22, 1945, under the leadership of the Party cell, the people of Giai Lac commune rose up to seize power in the joy of the country. Since then, the people have devoted all their responsibilities and revolutionary enthusiasm to the cause of building and consolidating the government, striving to eradicate hunger and illiteracy. Under the leadership of the Party cell, in the two wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists, the people of Dong Thanh contributed to the front line 4,224 tons of rice, 162 tons of food, 867 young people joining the army, 83 Youth Volunteers, 164 frontline laborers. The whole commune has 87 martyrs who heroically sacrificed for the Fatherland, more than 100 wounded, sick soldiers, and people infected with toxic chemicals.

Today, Dong Thanh Party Committee has grown and developed strongly, from a branch with 9 party members to 15 branches with 301 party members. In the process of leading the people in the revolution to drive out colonialists and imperialists to liberate the nation as well as in the process of renovation and construction of the homeland. The Party Committee has constantly innovated its leadership thinking and methods, focusing on rectification to build a clean and strong organization.

Traffic construction in Dong Thanh commune. Photo: VT

Innovation, breakthrough in difficult land

The southern area of ​​Dong Thanh commune has 3 limestone mountain ranges, surrounded by nearly 200 hectares of basalt land suitable for growing citrus trees. Previously, people only grew acacia, cajuput, sugarcane and pineapple with low productivity and efficiency. Now, based on the Resolution of the Commune Party Committee, Party cells met to discuss and mobilize people to convert mixed gardens to grow oranges, grapefruit, jackfruit, guava, etc. Party members and cadres have taken the lead. Party member Truong Van Viet in Dong Tro hamlet has converted 15 hectares of hills to grow 10 hectares with 5,000 orange trees, earning a profit of over 500 million VND per year. This model was visited and praised by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung in early 2021.

Comrade Phan Van Bao - former Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, retired, took the lead in renovating the mixed garden to grow 350 orange trees; Comrade Thai Van Thanh - Chairman of the Commune Fatherland Front Committee planted 300 orange and grapefruit trees, each year harvesting hundreds of millions of VND; Comrade Thai Duy Dai - Member of the Party Executive Committee, Director of the Agricultural Service Cooperative, renovated the mixed garden to grow 700 orange, lemon and grapefruit trees. Ha Dai Phu farm of Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, Director of Dong Thanh Orange Cooperative, renovated the garden land to grow 3 hectares of oranges.

In 2015, Dong Thanh commune had only 2 households growing 15 hectares of oranges. Now, 70 households have grown over 130 hectares, harvesting over 1,500 tons each year, worth over 30 billion VND, equivalent to the value of 350 hectares of rice in the whole commune.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee inspected the orange growing model in Dong Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Photo: Pham Bang

Currently, there are 10 orange farms, the largest farm is over 20 hectares, the smallest is also 1 hectare. Dong Thanh has now really transformed, from a barren land now replaced byorange garden greenbring income and enrich the people here. To maintain quality and develop the brand, the commune has established Dong Thanh Orange Cooperative. Dong Thanh oranges have affirmed their brand, participated in many fairs and exhibitions in and outside the province and have been certified as clean, safe and high-quality oranges according to VietGAP standards.

The northern part of the commune has 4 fields of nearly 310 hectares, mainly sandy soil. Previously, when irrigation work was not yet developed, people could only grow one rice crop and the rest was left fallow, with a yield of only 130 to 150 kg/sao. In the past few years, the Party Committee has led and attracted investment sources along with the local budget to upgrade large and small dams to ensure water for production. Thanks to proactive water use, people in Dong Phuc, Dong Hoa, Long Nam, Dong Phu, and Xuan Phu hamlets have changed from old rice varieties to new ones.

Thanks to the application of scientific and technical advances, the construction of concentrated production models, and the introduction of machinery to replace human labor, productivity and output have been significantly improved. The average yield in 2020 reached 57.6 quintals/ha, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 2015. The total food output reached 4,700 tons, the highest ever.

Ho Ve Vung. Photo courtesy: Nguyen Book

Ve Vung Lake, the largest in Yen Thanh District, has a water reserve of more than 17 million cubic meters, irrigating three communes: Dong Thanh, Phuc Thanh, Van Thanh and a hamlet of Hoa Thanh Commune. Around Ve Vung Lake, there are nearly 100 hectares of chestnut forests, creating an attractive ecological area. The Dong Thanh Commune Party Committee has focused on attracting investment to turn Ve Vung Dam into an attractive eco-tourism area.

2021 is the first year of implementing the 5-year socio-economic development plan (2021-2025), although facing many difficulties due to the impact ofCovid-19 pandemic, the complicated developments of livestock and poultry diseases have greatly affected all aspects of social life, but with the solidarity, efforts and determination of the Party Committee, the authorities, the sectors, unions and people of all walks of life, the socio-economic situation of the commune continues to have stable growth. Enterprises located in the area are still operating stably and creating jobs for nearly 500 workers. The production value reached 129.3 billion VND, an increase of 7.8% compared to the first 6 months of 2020. The Party Committee always pays attention to the work of training and developing Party organizations and Party members according to Project 5155-DA/TU of the Provincial Party Committee, and has established a business Party cell under the Dong Thanh Commune Party Committee with 8 Party members.

Looking back at the past term, despite many difficulties, Dong Thanh commune's economy continued to grow quite well. Production value reached 348,082 billion VND; average growth rate reached 10.15%; economic structure shifted in the right direction; average income per capita reached 43.6 million VND/person/year, an increase of 15.8 million VND compared to the beginning of the term. Well-off and rich households accounted for 30%, poor households were only 1.81%. At the end of 2017, the commune was recognized as meeting new rural standards.

Panorama of the ceremony to receive the Certificate of recognition of a new rural commune in Dong Thanh, Yen Thanh district. Photo: Thai Hong