Truong Thanh village is located within the administrative boundaries managed by the People's Committee of Vinh Ha commune, Vinh Linh district - Photo: VP
One place, two hometowns
During a business trip to Truong Thanh village, Linh Truong commune, we had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Ho Van Vy (born in 1992). Mr. Vy has been the head of Truong Thanh village since 2022.
Mr. Vy stated that currently, Truong Thanh village has only 23 households with 92 residents. However, the village still has a complete administrative structure, from the Party branch secretary, village head, head of the Fatherland Front working committee, and heads of various associations and organizations.
According to Mr. Vy, Truong Thanh village was established a long time ago, he doesn't remember exactly when. Although they belong to Linh Truong commune, the residents live on land under the administration of Vinh Ha commune, Vinh Linh district. "Truong Thanh village is nestled within the administrative boundaries of Vinh Ha commune. Therefore, their citizen identification cards are from Linh Truong, but their land ownership documents belong to Vinh Ha commune," Mr. Vy explained.
These shortcomings have created several obstacles for the residents of Truong Thanh village. The total area of Truong Thanh village is approximately 30 hectares, including residential and agricultural land, but few people have land ownership certificates. The villagers mainly engage in forestry and livestock farming (buffaloes and cows), with some households cultivating rubber trees. The village has only 23 households, but there are 6 poor households and 1 near-poor household.
Mr. Ho Van Tiep (born in 1995), Head of the Fatherland Front Committee of Truong Thanh village, said that currently, the distance from Truong Thanh village to the Linh Truong Commune People's Committee is about 10 km, the same distance as to the Vinh Ha Commune People's Committee. However, when Linh Truong, Hai Thai, Gio An, and Gio Son communes are merged to form Con Tien commune, with its headquarters located in the current Gio Son commune, the distance from Truong Thanh village to the new commune headquarters will be approximately 15 km.
Meanwhile, the communes of Vinh Ha, Vinh O, Vinh Khe and the town of Ben Quan merged to form the commune of Ben Quan, with its headquarters located in the current town of Ben Quan. The distance from Truong Thanh village to the new commune headquarters is now only about 5 km.
According to Mr. Vy and Mr. Tiep, merging Truong Thanh village into the new Ben Quan commune would be more convenient for residents in terms of distance to the commune headquarters, children could go to school closer, and especially, documents could be synchronized, ending the situation of "having two hometowns in one place".
According to our reporter's investigation, Truong Thanh is the village with the fewest households in Quang Tri province.
They have money but no land to build schools.
The situation of having "two homes in one place" in Truong Thanh village also affects students' ability to attend school.
Mr. Vy said that previously, preschool and primary school students in Truong Thanh village studied at a school located right in the village, which was very convenient. However, to make way for the construction of the Van Ninh - Cam Lo expressway, these two schools were demolished to clear the land.
Therefore, children from Truong Thanh village have to travel further to school, about 7 km. "From 2023 until now, people in Truong Thanh village have had to transport their children to school a distance of 7 km, which is very difficult, especially when the weather is unfavorable," said Mr. Vy.
Mr. Vo Dac Hoa, Chairman of the Gio Linh District People's Committee, said that he will contact and understand the thoughts and aspirations of all the people in Truong Thanh village. If the people of Truong Thanh village unanimously want to be merged into the new Ben Quan commune, the local government will propose to the competent authority to consider and decide.
Regarding the reconstruction of the two kindergarten and primary school sites in Truong Thanh village, Mr. Hoa said that the Gio Linh District People's Committee has worked with the Vinh Linh District People's Committee to allocate land for construction.
According to Mr. Hoa, on April 17, 2025, the Compensation, Support, and Resettlement Council for the North-South Expressway construction project in Vinh Linh district requested the Gio Linh District People's Committee to receive, manage, and utilize the compensation and support funds for land clearance for the reconstruction of two kindergarten and primary schools in Linh Truong commune. Therefore, on April 26, 2025, the Gio Linh District People's Committee authorized the Linh Truong Commune People's Committee to receive the funds to rebuild the two schools, meeting the teaching and learning needs of local children.
However, according to the Linh Truong Commune People's Committee, Truong Thanh village is under the administrative jurisdiction of Vinh Ha commune, and the land in the village is owned by individuals; there is no village land fund. The local government lacks the funds for compensation and land clearance, therefore there is no land available to allocate for the construction of the two school sites.
In light of the aforementioned difficulties and obstacles, the Gio Linh District People's Committee requests the Vinh Linh District People's Committee to pay attention and direct the relevant specialized agencies and the Vinh Ha Commune People's Committee to allocate land for the construction of two school sites to meet the learning needs of local students.
Van Phong
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/noi-niem-o-thon-co-it-ho-dan-nhat-tinh-194389.htm
