The arduous journey of Thang Loc

Une uneven level of education among the population, inadequate infrastructure, and a small workforce have created numerous difficulties and challenges in achieving socio-economic development goals in Thang Loc commune.

A view of Thang Loc commune.

Following the policy of reorganizing and streamlining the administrative apparatus, Thang Loc commune was established by merging the entire natural area and population of two communes: Xuan Loc and Xuan Thang (formerly Thuong Xuan district). After the reorganization, the commune has nearly 2,100 households with over 8,800 inhabitants, scattered across the area. Only 347.65 hectares of land are used for rice cultivation. On average, each household only has 0.16 hectares of rice land. Meanwhile, the irrigation system has not yet been invested in, resulting in low average annual rice yields. Until before 2022, the people here still had to receive relief rice from the State during the period leading up to the Lunar New Year or the lean season.

Lacking rice paddy land, the main source of income for the local people primarily depends on forests and forestry land, where they cultivate cassava, acacia, bamboo, and other forest products. However, due to outdated farming practices and slow application of science and technology, the productivity of these crops, as well as economic efficiency, remains low.

More importantly, Provincial Road 519B, which runs through the commune for a length of 17km (from Km39+00 to Km56+100), has many sections that are severely degraded. Although the road has been maintained and repaired in the past, only a short section of about 3km has been repaired. The majority of the road is damaged, peeling, and has many potholes, posing a serious traffic safety risk to people and vehicles.

After the 2025 rainy season, the cracks and peeling on the road widened even further. Meanwhile, this is a one-way, single-lane road connecting Thang Loc commune with National Highway 47 via Van Xuan and Thuong Xuan communes, and the other direction to the Ho Chi Minh Highway via Tan Thanh commune. Coupled with the long distance, the deterioration of the road directly affects the lives and incomes of the local people.

Ms. Hoang Thi Huong (born in 1984) from Chieng village, Thang Loc commune, said: “Our people’s income largely depends on acacia, cassava, and bamboo trees. Due to difficult transportation and the distance from the center and main roads, traders have to pay extra costs and time, so we have to accept selling agricultural and forestry products at much lower prices than in neighboring communes. Only then can we sell our goods.”

Ms. Huong gave the example of cassava, noting that while people in Tan Thanh commune sold it for 2.3 million VND/ton, people in Thang Loc commune only sold it for 1.9 million VND/ton. Similarly, for construction sand, people here had to pay 50,000 to 100,000 VND/m³ more than those in neighboring communes near major roads.

Mr. Vi Ngoc Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thang Loc commune, said: After implementing the two-tiered local government system, the commune has focused on organizing and implementing the set tasks and objectives with the motto of being close to the people, understanding the people, and better serving the needs of the people. In reality, Provincial Road 519B passing through the commune has been degraded for years, and after the storms in 2025, the level of damage has become more serious. Recognizing this as one of the bottlenecks, affecting not only the lives of the people but also the achievement of socio-economic development goals, Thang Loc commune has proactively requested the Department of Construction to consider allocating funds to repair, upgrade, and renovate the road. Priority should be given to the initial section, from Km39 to Km51, and the final section from Km53 to Km56+100, as soon as possible.

Not only are the main transportation routes connecting to the outside world in Thang Loc commune facing difficulties, but rural roads also have significant challenges. Specifically, before the establishment of the two-tiered local government system, the former Thang Loc and Xuan Thang communes had only completed the concrete paving of roads from Provincial Road 519B to the centers of 12 villages, with a width of about 2.5m. Currently, the percentage of concrete-paved roads within the commune is only about 42%. This situation not only causes difficulties for the lives of the people, but also makes it challenging for commune-level officials and civil servants to regularly visit the grassroots level, as many villages are more than 15km from the commune center.

According to a report from the Thang Loc Commune Party Committee, the commune currently lacks 19-21 civil servants according to the established staffing plan, including those in the Party, government, and Fatherland Front sectors. Notably, the Thang Loc Commune People's Committee is supposed to have 32 officials and civil servants, but currently only has 21. Facing a shortage of personnel amidst a large workload following the reorganization, the Standing Committee of the Thang Loc Commune Party Committee has had to conduct effective political and ideological work to motivate officials and civil servants to overcome immediate difficulties and strive to complete their assigned tasks. However, in the long term, the commune hopes that the province will consider transferring and assigning capable, qualified, experienced, and dedicated officials and civil servants to the commune.

Currently, Thang Loc remains a particularly disadvantaged commune, with 93.7% of its population being ethnic minorities. The commune still has 13.54% of households classified as poor and 40.66% as near-poor.

Text and photos: Do Duc

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/gian-nan-thang-loc-289526.htm