The hereditary 'thirst' in the 'twin' commune of Nghe An

DRY FIELDS IN "TWIN" COMMUNE

These days are supposed to be the season for people in Ma Thanh commune to go to the fields to sow summer-autumn rice. But now the prolonged heat has caused many dams in the area to dry up, leaving hundreds of hectares of rice fields abandoned. Mrs. Phan Thi Ha in Da Dung hamlet sadly looked down at the faded fields and sighed: My family is cultivating nearly 1 hectare of rice fields, now there is no water, so we have to leave them abandoned.

Old farmer Cao Van Son, hamlet 5, Tien Thanh commune sadly said that his family has more than 2 sao of rice fields. After harvesting the spring rice, he plowed the fields, hoping for rain to plant in the summer-autumn crop. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Not only is there a lack of water for production, but now the wells of hundreds of households in Dong Bau, Da Dung, Yen Thinh hamlets, etc. of Ma Thanh commune have run out of water. Mr. Phan Van in Yen Thinh hamlet confided: I am 72 years old this year, and I have witnessed drought every year in the locality. When there is drought, nothing can be grown. That means hunger year after year is inevitable. In addition, the lack of water for daily life has disrupted our lives.

Mr. Tran Dinh Canh - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said: Ma Thanh Commune has 348 hectares of wet rice cultivation. Up to this point, due to the low water level in 6 local dams, in the past few months there has been no water to pump for irrigation such as Chua Lui, Khe Trang, Sat dams... Therefore, more than 100 hectares of area have no water for cultivation.

Most of the fields in Tien Thanh and Ma Thanh communes are dry and have to be abandoned. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Asked about local drought prevention measures? Mr. Canh sadly said: Determining that the summer-autumn crop will face many difficulties due to lack of water, the locality has instructed people to switch from rice to growing wormwood.

"The commune has a plan to dredge the water to pump out, prepare dozens of oil pumps, 2 pumping stations ready to deal with the drought, but the biggest concern is that there is no water source to pump. If the hot weather continues and there is no rain, in 10 days most of the rice growing area will be severely droughted and will not be able to grow anything" - Mr. Tran Dinh Canh shared.

Tien Thanh commune was separated from Ma Thanh commune in 2001, the drought was more severe. We went to almost all the fields but the rice fields were all abandoned.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Dai - Secretary of the Tien Thanh Commune Party Committee said: Every year our commune has drought, but this year the drought is the most severe. 8 dams in the area have run out of water. Currently, only 8 hectares have enough water for planting, while 280 hectares have no water. Mr. Dai also mentioned measures to combat drought like Ma Thanh Commune and change crops. "But it is likely that people will not plant. Because the risk of total loss is visible", Mr. Dai said.

When is the deadline?

According to the Party Secretary of Tien Thanh commune, there are currently two options that, if implemented, will end the hereditary drought in Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh communes.

The Dao River flows through Ma Thanh Commune, full of water all year round, while most of the local rice fields have to be left fallow every summer-autumn crop due to lack of water. People in Tien Thanh and Ma Thanh Communes hope that the State will invest in irrigation works to take water from the Dao River to irrigate their fields.

The first option is to build a water aqueduct from the Dao River. Mr. Dai affirmed: “We only need to build a cement aqueduct to get water from the Dao River (the Dao River rarely lacks water), then there is no need to worry about water shortage, the distance is only a few kilometers. If the terrain is high, we can use a transfer pump station. The cost is not much compared to the investment in drought prevention in recent years.”

The second option is to dam Bom stream at the beginning of Tien Thanh commune. This stream is located between high mountains in the shape of a basin. Every time it rains, a large amount of water flows from upstream. If this dam can be built, it will retain water, which is convenient for flood prevention and irrigation against drought not only in Tien Thanh and Ma Thanh communes but also in neighboring communes.

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Long - Deputy Director of Ma Thanh Agricultural Cooperative, who has been involved in the agricultural sector for 40 years, the most effective solution to quench thirst in the locality is to take water from Dao River to Bau Sung of Lang Thanh commune, from there use a pumping station to pump water to the fields.

Bau Sung of Lang Thanh commune extends to Ma Thanh commune. In previous years, Ma Thanh commune built a pumping station at Khe Lo bridge, but in the dry season, due to insufficient water for the operation of the 3 existing pumping stations (2 stations in Lang Thanh commune), it was left unused. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to the leaders of the two communes of Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh, every year the communes propose many drought prevention plans to the district but they have not been approved yet. Mr. Bui Trong Long - Former Chairman of the People's Committee of Ma Thanh commune said: "In the face of urgent problems of the people. In 2000, the survey team of the district and the province also went to Bom slope to examine the situation, but until now there has been no response. We sincerely hope that the superiors pay attention and have measures to prevent drought in the two communes to reduce the suffering of the people".

Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Vuong Ngoc - Vice Chairman of Yen Thanh District People's Committee said: Faced with the current situation of hereditary drought in Tien Thanh and Ma Thanh communes, the district government is also having a headache to find solutions to combat the drought, but has not found a feasible solution. According to the proposal of the two localities, there are 3 solutions: building a water aqueduct from Dao River and blocking Khe Bom dam, or building a water aqueduct from Dao River to Sung lake of Lang Thanh commune, from there the communes pump water to the fields.

The Sat Dam of Tien Thanh Commune is being upgraded by the State. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Huu Dai - Secretary of the Tien Thanh Commune Party Committee, after completion, the water source of this dam will only provide irrigation water for 300 hectares of Tien Thanh and Ma Thanh. Photo: Xuan Hoang

However, Mr. Ngoc said that the solution to dam Khe Bom is not feasible. Because the natural forest area has been converted to planted forest, the water source is not as abundant as the previous primary forest; meanwhile, the investment cost of damming is very high. The plan to build a water aqueduct from Dao River running straight to Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh communes should not be done either, because it is not suitable for the flow principle, while the length is about 3 - 4 km, the investment cost is high.

The only solution is to convert suitable crops, otherwise, building a water aqueduct from Dao River to Bau Sung of Lang Thanh commune, from there pumping water up is the most suitable, the investment cost is not much. Because the length from Dao River to Bau Sung is only about a few hundred meters.

Currently, farmers and authorities of Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh communes urgently hope that authorities at all levels will soon take measures to help these two communes escape the hereditary drought.