People's power in the project of the century Part 1: "The march for today and tomorrow"

On April 29, 1981, in Thuan Binh hamlet, Truong Mit commune, Duong Minh Chau district, the late Deputy Prime Minister Huynh Tan Phat made the first hoe stroke in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Dau Tieng reservoir. On January 10, 1985, the Dau Tieng irrigation system with two main canals, the East and the West, officially opened for water. Following that, the level 2, level 3, and level 4 canal systems were successively built, bringing water to cover the fields.

People and youth of Tay Ninh working at Dau Tieng Lake construction site (Photo courtesy of Tay Ninh Provincial Youth Union)

Going back in time, more than 40 years ago, at the Dau Tieng reservoir construction site, every day, tens of thousands of young people contributed their efforts to build the lake. This contribution was especially great, as Mr. Vo Hoang Khai - former Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department (now the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department) affirmed: "Thanks to the reservoir, Tay Ninh people are well-off, Tay Ninh youth have the right to be proud that they have contributed the most."

Communist Youth Square

According to Mr. Tran Viet Bien - former Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, at that time Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, after the groundbreaking ceremony with the first hoe by the late Deputy Prime Minister Huynh Tan Phat, Tay Ninh people, including young people, were mobilized to the construction site to dig and build the canal. After a month of hardship, everyone dug and built 100,000m3 of soil. "But with that result, it is estimated that it will take 71 years for the project to be completed" - Mr. Bien said.

Mr. Tran Viet Bien - former Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee talks about memories of building the "Communist Youth" construction site

Faced with that situation, Mr. Tran Viet Bien thought of doing something to make a breakthrough, to bring the Tay Ninh youth movement forward. At that time, the Tay Ninh youth movement was also at the bottom of the competition table of the Southeast provinces. “First of all, I discussed with the comrades of the Executive Committee and decided to choose the breakthrough as the Tay Ninh youth to do irrigation work. We reported this idea to comrade Dang Van Thuong - at that time the Provincial Party Secretary and he agreed, promising to create the most favorable conditions" - Mr. Tran Viet Bien recalled.

Then, the Provincial Youth Union selected Hiep Tan Commune, Hoa Thanh District (now Hiep Tan Ward, Hoa Thanh Town) to pilot the model of the Communist Youth Irrigation Construction Site on a commune-wide scale.

Through the youth movement of Hiep Tan commune in irrigation, the initial deadlocks in organizing and commanding the construction site were resolved. The construction team had a reasonable labor chain, achieved high labor productivity, ensured technical standards and compacted the foundation, and were within the norm.

From those important victories, in 1983, the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee allowed the Provincial Youth Union to hold a congress of youth representatives on the irrigation front. In this congress, Tay Ninh youth boldly accepted the target of digging and filling 2.5 million cubic meters of soil on the construction site. After that, the youth of the whole province rushed to the "Dau Tieng irrigation front", raising the slogan "We go to build the construction site, the construction site builds us".

By the end of that year, the youth had dug and filled 1.6 million cubic meters of soil. And not only Hiep Tan Commune but also districts in the whole province, each district had 1-2 communes with such a vibrant emulation movement.

From that victory, on November 24, 1983, the Provincial Party Committee and People's Committee of Tay Ninh province held a conference and decided to give the youth of Tay Ninh a very great honor by naming the Dau Tieng Tay Ninh irrigation project "Communist Youth Construction Site".

It is the trust of the Party committees, the State and the people in the province that has created the motivation to urge the youth to move forward more strongly. "The whole province launched a march following the footsteps of the heroes, the Provincial Party Secretary as Commander, the Provincial Youth Union Secretary as Deputy Commander, the youth simultaneously marched with the spirit of "Marching for today and tomorrow, marching to build a beautiful and rich homeland" - Mr. Tran Viet Bien recalled the atmosphere of that day.

The working spirit was high. At the peak, there were more than 30,000-40,000 union members and young people gathering at the construction site. The phenomenon of young people running away completely ended. Many young people not only went once but also went to the construction site a second, third, and many times. Every year, the young people dug and filled up not only 1 million, but up to 2 million and then 2.5 million cubic meters of soil.

“At the Dau Tieng Tay Ninh Lake Communist Youth Construction Site, Tay Ninh youth have marked their continuous growth, digging and building a large volume of canals to allow cool water to flow through,” said Mr. Tran Viet Bien.

"I go to the construction site, the construction site builds me"

With the above slogan, many youth movements are organized enthusiastically to help young people train their will and mature on the construction site.

Mr. Vo Hoang Khai - former Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department remembers clearly the enthusiastic atmosphere of the youth at that time. To encourage the enthusiasm and working spirit of everyone, Mr. Vo Hoang Khai organized many exciting emulation movements among the youth. Among them, he always remembers the program launched called "Attack on De Catries tunnel" in May 1984, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory, to promote the effectiveness of excavation and earthworks at the construction site. At that time, the program was launched in Bau Don commune, Go Dau district with about 300 young people participating.

Mr. Vo Hoang Khai - former Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department talked about the launching program called "Attack on De Catries bunker"

“At that time, with human power, we will dig level 3 and level 4 canals. In arid places, difficult to dig due to lots of gravel and rocks, it will be likened to De-Cat tunnels. The task of the youth is to “attack” successfully, like the spirit of our ancestors who attacked General De Catries’ command bunker to create the resounding victory of Dien Bien Phu” - Mr. Vo Hoang Khai explained. The launching session only lasted 20 minutes but further fostered the working spirit of each youth during the construction of Dau Tieng reservoir; promoted the role of youth “wherever needed, there are youth, where there are difficulties, there are youth” and received positive response from the people.

Mr. Dang Thanh Hai - former Chairman of Chau Thanh District People's Committee, who was then the Secretary of Thanh Dien Commune Youth Union, recounted that the youth emulation movement during this period was very strong. Every year, from the commune level up, emulation was organized with rewards and commendations for outstanding individuals, and considered labor champions. The Union also launched emulation campaigns in batches on anniversaries such as the founding day of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union on March 26, the anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday on May 19, etc.

“At that time, the two communes of Thanh Dien (Chau Thanh) and Hiep Tan (Hoa Thanh) had the most exciting emulation movements in the whole province. Everyone was full of enthusiasm. Because after the liberation, there were no activities or organizations to gather young people, when they were able to contribute to the construction site called “Communist Youth Construction Site”, everyone was very proud. When they arrived, everyone volunteered, consciously, and tried to complete the targets assigned by their local hamlets and communes,” Mr. Hai excitedly recounted.

During that time, the Youth Union gathered 50,000 Tay Ninh youths into the Vietnam Youth Union, 10,000 Tay Ninh youths joined the Youth Union and over 500 excellent members were admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam; hundreds of Youth Union cadres were matured on the construction site. Of which, the Youth Union of the whole province received 3 Second Class Labor Medals, 9 Third Class Labor Medals, 8 Certificates of Merit from the Council of Ministers, 12 emulation flags and 154 Certificates of Merit from the Ministry of Water Resources, the Central Youth Union and many other forms of awards.

With the results achieved, it can be seen that the youth force has made great contributions to the construction of Dau Tieng irrigation reservoir. As a proud mark of the youth.

Vi Xuan - Khai Tuong

(to be continued)

After 45 years of construction and 40 years of putting the project into operation, Dau Tieng reservoir has demonstrated its particularly important position and role in implementing the project's multi-purpose tasks such as: supplying water for agricultural, industrial and domestic production; supporting the creation of water sources, discharging flows, reducing floods, improving the environment and water quality of the Saigon River, Vam Co Dong River and many other activities for the provinces of Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Long An and Ho Chi Minh City. With its particularly important position and role, Dau Tieng reservoir was included in the list of important irrigation works related to national security by the Prime Minister on December 2, 2024.

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/bai-1-cuoc-hanh-quan-cho-hom-nay-va-mai-sau--a189949.html