Temporary bridge swept away by flood, difficult road to border village in Con Cuong
(Baonghean.vn) - The bridge over Khe Con has been swept away by floodwaters for over a week now, making the road to Bung village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district extremely difficult.
The temporary bridge made of wooden bars and bamboo baskets filled with stones, made by local people, across the Giang River to Bung village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong), was swept away in the flood in early September 2023. The incident made the already difficult travel between Bung village and the center of Mon Son commune even more arduous.
Mr. La Van Chin - Head of Bung village, Mon Son commune said that the bridge was built by the villagers themselves. The wood was obtained from the Forest Protection Station of Pu Mat National Park. The villagers contributed labor, and households that could not participate paid to hire workers to build it. The value of the wooden bridge with bamboo pillars was only about 5 million VND; however, this was the best way for people and motorbikes to cross the river. The temporary bridge was easily washed away by floods and the villagers often had to rebuild it themselves.
"Currently, the water is still high, we have to wait for the water to recede before the villagers can rebuild the bridge," Mr. Chin added.
In Bung village, there is currently a kindergarten, a satellite school of Mon Son 2 Primary School, with 63 primary school students and 32 preschool children. Teachers go to school at the beginning of the week and return home at the end of the week. There is no temporary bridge, so they have to carry their motorbikes across this section of the river if the water level is low. However, in recent days, due to the rain, the river water has risen, making it impossible to carry motorbikes across the river.
Taking a boat on the Giang River is another way to get to Bung village, but it is quite expensive. Each trip costs from 1 to 1.5 million VND to rent a boat, so many teachers still ride motorbikes to the village.
At one end of the bridge, there is a bamboo raft made by the locals to transport people and vehicles across the river. “But there is not always someone on duty there. Besides, each round trip costs 10,000 VND, so people often carry their vehicles across the river. If the floodwaters are high, the village will be almost isolated,” added Mr. La Van Chin.
In Bung village, there are also dozens of students studying at the middle and high schools in the commune center. Every time they go to school and return home, they have to cross this river. Bung village is also the base of a working group of Mon Son Border Guard Station and a ranger station of Pu Mat National Park.