New opportunities for dynamic countryside

(Baonghean) - After more than 3 years of implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development, Dien Thap commune (Dien Chau) has had many important changes. What made that success was thanks to the consensus, promoting internal strength to overcome difficulties, enriching the people, creating a step of local development that is rarely found elsewhere.

A corner of the new rural village of Dien Thap. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Dien Thap (Dien Chau) used to be a poor commune, people often compared Dien Thap land to "desolate fields", many households did not have enough food and clothes. Perhaps, from the hardships and shortages, Dien Thap people had a vitality that was rarely matched in any other rural area. Few people thought that, from carrying poles and bare feet, Dien Thap people went to collect waste in remote villages and alleys, then gradually expanded to Laos, from there opening a bronze casting profession. From that hard-working profession, the "desolate fields" land has now truly taken on a prosperous and wealthy appearance. Dien Thap today has high-rise houses close together, clean village roads and alleys, and well-groomed fields. The commune has met 19/19 criteria for new rural areas.

Ms. Chu Thi Khuyen - Chairman of Dien Thap Commune People's Committee said that in the near future (December 20), the commune will be honored to receive the Certificate of meeting new rural standards. She excitedly said: With the attention and direction of the province, the participation of sectors, organizations, and the political system from the district to the commune, especially the consensus of the people in joining hands and hearts to build new rural areas to have the results like today. If the people agree, every work will go smoothly. In addition to promoting regular, extensive, and diversified propaganda through mass media, seminars, competitions to learn about new rural areas in the form of dramatization, leaflets, billboards, etc., each party member and cadre must be exemplary, take the lead, and act with words. Every issue that needs to be implemented is brought before the people, transparently and clearly, and only when the people have high consensus will we start implementing it. At the same time, there is a specific and complete division of responsibilities, setting goals to mobilize local resources from the people and making good use of non-budgetary capital sources... Thanks to that, the implementation of new rural criteria in Dien Thap is quite favorable.

Clean and spacious village roads and alleys in Dien Thap. Photo: Thu Huong

Mr. Tran Quang Thach - Head of Hamlet 4, Dien Thap Commune shared: In implementing the construction of the new rural area, each family, village, and hamlet finds its own direction and way of doing things. The Steering Committee for New Rural Area Construction of the Commune assigns each association and organization to be in charge of one criterion. For example, the Veterans Association takes on the poverty reduction criterion, the Youth Union takes on traffic, irrigation, and maintaining security and order; the Farmers' Association promotes internal strength to develop the economy; the Women's Association works together to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and build a happy and prosperous family. Since 2012, Dien Thap Commune has implemented the new rural area construction pilot in 3 hamlets: Hamlet 1, Hamlet 8, and Hamlet 9; mobilized to do the rural traffic criteria in advance, and up to now, the whole commune has implemented nearly 30 km of concrete roads according to the standards of type A and B roads of the Ministry of Transport, with a total capital of nearly 15 billion VND.

The remaining criteria such as electricity, schools, cultural facilities, residential housing... have also been well implemented by Dien Thap. In addition, identifying the development of the irrigation system as one of the key points to meet the requirements of production and people's lives, in recent years the commune has attracted capital sources from the Central, province, district and annual irrigation compensation, especially mobilizing people's contributions to upgrade the level 2 and 3 canal systems; currently, the construction and upgrading of 4 more canals with a total length of 3,116.3m, a total cost of 11,917 million VND, basically meeting the irrigation and drainage needs for production and people's lives.

Mr. Chu Cao Nguyen - Secretary of the Party Committee of Dien Thap commune said: "It must be recognized that the results achieved today are the result of the great efforts and joint efforts of all the people, the unity of each cadre, village, hamlet, and each person who has promoted the spirit of responsibility and creativity in each way of doing things...". That result is shown through a few indicators: The average income per capita of Dien Thap commune has reached over 35 million VND/year. Currently, the whole commune has nearly 70 means of transport from 2.5 tons or more, over 30 large and small business agents, nearly 1,500 people doing commercial services in Laos...

Thu Huong