To develop the Ba To Safety Zone to its full potential

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - In 2013, Ba To district had 5 communes and 1 town recognized by the Prime Minister as a Central Safe Zone (ATK) in Quang Ngai during the resistance war against France. On that basis, the central government and the province have implemented many policies and invested in infrastructure to improve the material and spiritual life of the people.

10 year journey

Up to this point, it has been exactly 10 years since the Prime Minister decided to recognize 5 communes of Ba To district including Ba Vinh, Ba Giang, Ba Dong, Ba Chua, Ba Thanh and Ba To town as belonging to the central ATK zone in Quang Ngai during the resistance war against France. The Prime Minister also directed Quang Ngai province to develop and approve a project to improve the material and spiritual life of people in the revolutionary base area. In 2020, the central government decided to merge Ba Chua commune into Ba To town and Ba Dinh commune. From then on, the Ba To ATK zone only had 4 communes: Ba Vinh, Ba Giang, Ba Dong, Ba Thanh and Ba To town.

A corner of Ba To town seen from above. Photo: DOAN VUONG QUOC

The ATK Ba To area is located on the bustling National Highway 24, especially Ba To town. The beautiful and spacious roads invested in the construction of the Ba To urban center are also investments for the ATK area, with a budget of hundreds of billions of VND. These are the roads of Tran Quy Hai, 30/10, Tran Toai... The houses along both sides of National Highway 24 are spacious; businesses selling essential goods have been established, contributing to improving the quality of services and trade, bringing many conveniences to the people of the ATK area. The major road connecting Ba To and Minh Long districts has been invested in, creating connections, spreading, and creating development momentum for Ba Thanh, Ba Vinh communes in particular and the ATK area in general. The roads to historical sites have also been initially invested in, such as Ba Vinh - Nuoc La - Vot Rep cave road...

ATK Ba To area is currently focusing on production and development of traditional crafts. That is Lang Teng brocade, Ba Thanh commune. From the manual production of costumes of the Hre ethnic group, with unique patterns, it has brought excitement and attraction to tourists inside and outside the province. Now, Lang Teng brocade has become a special commodity product, not only supplying to local people, but also receiving many orders from consumers across the country. Recently, Binh Dinh province ordered Lang Teng brocade as a gift for delegates at an important conference. Notably, in March 2023, Lang Teng brocade was also included in the gift when the provincial delegation visited and worked in 3 provinces: Attapeu, Champasak and Sekong (Laos). It can be affirmed that Lang Teng brocade weaving is increasingly developing, bringing jobs and significant income to a part of the people here.

ATK Ba To is also a place that preserves many special historical relics and poetic landscapes that attract tourists. It is a special National Monument of the Ba To uprising site, associated with the Ba To uprising on March 11, 1945 and the birth and activities of the heroic Ba To Guerrilla Team; majestic Cao Muon mountain and waterfall; terraced fields surrounding the Hre village on the mountainside. Not only that, this place has Lien River, the upstream of Ve River - one of the four major rivers of Quang Ngai. That landscape creates an attractive destination of ATK Ba To, starting from the historical relic cluster of the Ba To uprising in Ba To town, then to Teng Village, Ba Thanh commune, then up to Ba Vinh to admire Cao Muon mountain, experience the cool water of the majestic waterfall...

Still many concerns

Ba To town is the center of the ATK region, the driving force for development of the district. Ba To town was established 35 years ago and was recognized as a type V urban area 6 years ago, but many criteria have not yet been met. Most of the investment routes in Ba To town have to be divided into many phases due to lack of capital. Many routes have a 10-year gap between the investment and the construction stages. On the other hand, when a part of Ba Chua commune was merged into Ba To town, there was only a change in administrative boundaries, but in reality, the old Ba Chua commune area has not received much investment. Many roads are narrow and degraded; the roads leading to residential areas are dirt roads...

We went to Ba To town - the area on this side of the Lien River, the asphalt roads were unfinished, leading to the river wharf but had to install warning barriers because the road was not connected to the bridge. Discussing with the Chairman of the Ba To District People's Committee Pham Xuan Vinh about this situation, we learned that these were roads invested mainly by the district's budget and the funds came from ATK. However, due to limited capital, only small-scale investment was made, and no inter-route investment was made. The reason for the road having barriers was to warn people to pay attention to ensure safety when traveling. The district has developed a plan to invest in a bridge across the Lien River, connecting this asphalt road with the Ba Chua - Hanh Tin Tay road, creating development momentum for the whole region, but due to lack of funding, it has not been possible to implement it.

It is known that Ba To District Party Committee has issued Resolution No. 02 on urban development associated with land use management in urban areas, period 2021 - 2025 and vision to 2030. The goal is to build Ba To town in a modern, civilized and synchronous direction; strive to achieve 46/49 criteria of type V urban areas by 2025 and achieve 5 - 8 more criteria of type IV urban areas. By 2030, complete the construction of type V urban areas and achieve 10 - 15 more criteria of type IV urban areas. However, the implementation of this resolution is still limited due to lack of investment resources.

People's wishes

Visiting the ATK Ba To area and meeting the locals, everyone hopes that the locality will have beautiful, spacious roads to facilitate travel and trade. “My house is opposite Ba To market, but there is no bridge, so every time I go to the market, I have to go around 10km. If there was a bridge, it would only be about 1km to get to the market. My children and grandchildren also have to go around to school. During flood season, the river water rises and sometimes they have to miss school because the bridge is old and unsafe. I hope there will be a concrete road leading to the residential area, and then a bridge across the Lien River,” said Ms. Dinh Thi Oi, in residential group 7, Ba To town.

Due to lack of investment resources, many roads in the Ba To town safety zone are under construction. Photo: Thanh Nhi

In Lang Teng village, Ba Thanh commune, people also hope that the State will invest in building roads to residential areas, for convenient travel, attracting tourists, helping to preserve culture and create jobs, increasing income for people. Revolutionary relics in the ATK area also need to be restored such as caves, trenches, fortifications, technical stations, engineering workshops; restoring historical relics, to develop tourism, contributing to the socio-economic development of the ATK area.

Need to increase investment level

According to Chairman of Ba To District People's Committee Pham Xuan Vinh, the wishes of the people of ATK Ba To area are included in the policy for ATK issued by the Government. However, due to limited resources, the budget only provides 2 billion VND/commune and town in ATK Ba To area each year. Therefore, it is not possible to invest in many projects at the same time, nor can it invest in projects with large budgets. The district recommends that superiors increase the investment level for ATK area, to gradually meet the needs of infrastructure investment, to ensure socio-economic development, tourism, and new rural construction in ATK communes.

THANH NHI

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