Hundreds of traffic works push back the dark poverty in Quy land

(Baonghean) - As a mountainous district, the terrain is divided by mountains and rivers, so the construction and development of the traffic system in Quy Chau faces many difficulties. Therefore, recently, the locality has mobilized funding to promote infrastructure construction, in which traffic is the top priority.

Song Hieu Bridge, Chau Hoi Commune (Quy Chau) has just been completed and put into use. Photo: Cong Kien

Going to Quy Chau this time, we went to the deep Pha Day area (Chau Binh commune) - a place that was once famous for its difficult and arduous life because of the traffic being cut off, isolated from the surrounding areas. The road connecting National Highway 48 with Chau Binh and Chau Thuan communes was bustling with trucks carrying goods to the village and agricultural products to the central area.

Ahead were undulating ranges of rocky mountains, the road wound through crevices and led into a vast valley. Day Lagoon appeared with lush green sugarcane fields stretching to the foot of the mountain.

Ms. Vi Thi Duyet - Village Chief said, "Pha Day" in Thai means "ladders climbing up the rocky mountain", because here the mountains are overlapping, creating a valley separate from the surrounding area. In the past, to get here, people had to make wooden steps, connecting them into sections to climb up, so only about 10 households with leprosy patients lived there. Then the road was opened, the mountain pass was destroyed, opening wide the gateway to Pha Day. Since then, life here began to change and improve, many people came here to live and work, now the village has more than 40 households. Traffic is convenient, the land is fertile, sugarcane is currently the main crop of Pha Day with about 27 hectares; children can go to school to learn. For the people of Pha Day, the asphalt road to the village has become a legendary road...

From Chau Binh, we went to Chau Phong, Chau Hoan and Dien Lam communes, which are remote communes of Quy Chau district, bordering Quy Hop, Tuong Duong and Que Phong districts. Not long ago, people here considered themselves "lowlands" and "dark areas" because the roads were difficult and bumpy, and there was no national electricity grid. Ms. Vi Thi Lan in Pieng Cam village (Chau Phong commune) recalled her past travel experiences: Every time I had to go to the district center, I had to walk more than 30 km, taking the whole day, and on rainy and windy days, I had to rest along the way, waiting for the next morning to continue. The teachers have not forgotten the days of traveling on steep, muddy and slippery mountain passes, motorbikes had to have chains wrapped around the tires to increase friction and limit slipping. However, on rainy days, going to school with dirty clothes and wet books, the biggest wish is to have an asphalt road to make traveling less difficult and arduous.

And, that dream road has also become a reality. Since 2007, the road connecting National Highway 48 in the central area of ​​Quy Chau district to Chau Phong - Chau Hoan - Dien Lam communes has been under construction. The road was completed in 2009, opening up prospects for socio-economic development for localities in the region, shortening the distance between the "lowland" and the central area. After about 10 years of upgrading the road, the appearance of Phong - Hoan - Lam communes has changed significantly, because goods are traded, agricultural and forestry products have the opportunity to be consumed, promoting the exchange process in all aspects...

We continued through Chau Hoi and Chau Nga, places previously known for their poverty and isolation. Now the appearance of these communes has also changed, the reason being the asphalt road invested in by the State, creating momentum for the process of rural development in the highlands. With the road, travel becomes easier and more convenient; forests for growing raw wood have people coming to buy, people have the opportunity to recover capital for reproduction and building houses, and shopping for conveniences. Business and production develop, creating excitement and confidence for all classes of people.

Ke Ninh suspension bridge, Chau Hanh commune (Quy Chau). Photo: Cong Kien

We passed the left bank of Hieu River in Chau Hanh Commune, the newly completed suspension bridge connecting Ke Ninh with the commune and district center, erasing the isolation like an "oasis" before. Thai people said that it is not only a bridge for traveling and connecting the two banks, but also a place to build a bridge to help the village escape poverty and backwardness, to a civilized life. Because in the past, Ke Ninh was isolated, the ferry was the only means to cross the river, so people's lives were difficult, poor, and intellectually backward... Now, across Hieu River, the inter-village roads have just been paved with smooth asphalt. The suspension bridge and asphalt road have been a dream for many generations, existing right in the middle of the village, so not only the elderly but also children are bustling with joy. Branch roads are also being concreted, new, spacious houses are starting to spring up, the construction of new rural areas has brought about a change in the face of the village.

Discussing the results of investment in construction of traffic infrastructure, Mr. Ngo Duc Thuan - Chairman of Quy Chau District People's Committee said that in recent years, Quy Chau has completed and put into use hundreds of traffic works, up to now 100% of the roads to the centers of communes have been invested in asphalt, 70% of the village roads have been concreted, the system of bridges over rivers and streams and drainage culverts on the routes with a total length of 357m. In the period from 2011 to 2015 alone, the district has invested in the construction of 117 works with a total length of 113.83 km of roads of all kinds, including: 57.25 km of asphalt roads and 56.58 km of concrete roads with a total investment of up to 393.3 billion VND. In particular, it is necessary to mention key projects such as: Chau Hoi - Chau Thuan traffic road; Ke Ninh suspension bridge in Chau Hanh commune; Road from National Highway 48 to Ke Ninh village, Chau Hanh commune, to Chau Hoi commune; Song Hieu and Hoa Hai bridges...

Regarding the implementation plan in the next phase, comrade Ngo Duc Thuan affirmed: “Quy Chau district will continue to promote infrastructure construction, focusing on key projects, public welfare projects, mobilizing resources, integrating programs and projects of the Central, the province and the district to invest in construction, gradually meeting the production requirements and serving the people's lives. In particular, striving for 100% of villages to have car roads to the center, 77.1% of roads to be paved”.

Cong Kien