Billion-dollar gardens "sadly" in flood water

In Cai Mon hamlet, Tan Hung commune, young man Duong Chi Thien planted more than 700 coconut trees intercropped with kumquat, guava, lemongrass and raised giant catfish on an area of ​​more than 2 hectares. After 4 years of starting a business, Chi Thien borrowed and invested nearly 1 billion VND with the hope that life would turn a new page. However, the incident of a 15 meter long, 6 meter wide embankment breaking caused the entire garden to be flooded for more than a week.

At only 23 years old, but after a week of almost no sleep to watch over the water to save the garden, Thien was completely exhausted. Duong Chi Thien proactively operated 5 field pumps to pump water out of the garden. “The initial damage was estimated at more than 200 million VND, but the bigger loss was the risk of losing the entire garden that had been built with so much effort. Now there are only a few coconut trees left, trying to pump out the water, spraying chemicals to treat them in the hope of saving the trees,” Thien sadly shared.

Militia of Tan Hung commune ( Tay Ninh province) fix the broken dike.

Not only coconut trees and kumquat trees, but also "golden gardens, silver gardens" such as durian cannot escape the flood. On an area of ​​nearly 0.8 hectares of durian intercropped with guava, Mr. Do Chi Tam in Go Thuyen hamlet, Tan Hung commune, just suffered a loss of more than 50 million VND when floodwaters flooded in just 10 minutes due to a broken dike. After nearly two days of being submerged in floodwaters, the durian trees have lost their leaves and turned yellow. These durian trees only have about a week left to be fertilized to produce the first fruit after nearly 4 years of care. Yet the flood has submerged all the efforts of the people with muddy hands and feet. Mr. Tam said sadly: "In previous years, the water level was still under control. This year, the water level rose too high, the dike leaked and collapsed without warning, and we reinforced it regularly but it still could not withstand it."

Although natural disasters are inevitable, the recent series of dike breaches have sounded the alarm about the need to strengthen the dike system, embankments, and reinforce drainage channels in low-lying areas. Only by being proactive in dealing with the water can people both exploit the benefits of the flood season and protect their livelihoods and efforts.

Soldiers and militia stand side by side to help people

The troops were divided into many places, constantly moving, sometimes protecting the dike, sometimes harvesting rice; having a quick meal, sleeping quickly, then continuing to immerse themselves in the flood water regardless of day or night. That was the activity for many days of the officers and soldiers of the armed forces of Tay Ninh province in the communes of Dong Thap Muoi region.

Officers and soldiers of Company 9, Defense Command of Area 4 - Tan Thanh (Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command) help people harvest rice to escape the flood.

Comrade Pham Si Bel, a militia soldier on duty at the Tan Hung Commune Military Command, Tay Ninh Province, said: “Flood prevention has no time limit anymore, because the people need it urgently, so we will only return when it is finished. The more we can help the people, the better”...

Joining the Tan Hung Commune militia in fighting the flood, we witnessed the positivity of the soldiers. Even though they were immersed in water or had to work through lunch, the soldiers still raced against time to respond to the flood. While working at one position, they received news that another position was also experiencing a dike break, so the Commune Military Command continued to divide its forces to go to the dike protection.

According to comrade Nguyen Hoang Quan, Deputy Commander of Tan Hung Commune Military Command, the commune militia force is on duty 24/7, closely following the area. When people need it, when there is a dike break, the militia force is present.

Militia of Vinh Hung commune (Tay Ninh province) helps people harvest rice and transport rice to shore.

In Vinh Hung commune, the flood covered the entire low-lying fields. The late-ripening rice fields, including the fields of Mrs. Tran My Hanh's family (Go Cat hamlet), were submerged in water. Soldiers, militia, union members, and youth in the commune were mobilized to save the rice. It took nearly 20 minutes for a large ferry and motorboat to transport everyone to the rice harvesting site.

Immersing themselves in the water, officers and soldiers of Company 9, Defense Command of Area 4 - Tan Thanh (Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command) quickly lined up in the water and used sickles to cut small bundles of rice. The soldiers used pieces of plastic tarpaulin to form boats floating on the water to hold the rice. Despite the hardship and having to be naked in the water, the soldiers still smiled and together tried to help people ease the pain of crop failure. With responsibility and affection, the soldiers spread a warm and loving atmosphere to the farmers.

Mr. Nguyen Van Du in Vinh Hung commune emotionally expressed: "The soldiers and militia are very dedicated to helping the people. My family has 8 hectares, but before the flood we had cut more than 3 hectares, the rest is thanks to the help of the soldiers, militia and union members and youth."

Amidst the hardships caused by the great floods, the bond between the army and the people became even closer and the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers became more beautiful in the hearts of the people in the flooded areas of Tay Ninh.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/nuoi-duong-van-hoa-bo-doi-cu-ho/lu-lon-o-vung-dong-thap-muoi-tinh-tay-ninh-bo-doi-dan-quan-sat-canh-giup-nhan-dan-909772