People's strength in the project of the century Part 2: Pity the barren land...

We go dig canals

Mr. Dang Thanh Hai - former Chairman of Chau Thanh District People's Committee and Mr. Nguyen Van Ngau (right cover) recall memories of building Dau Tieng Lake.

Thanh Dien Commune (Chau Thanh District) used to be one of the prominent localities in the province in the movement to mobilize people to participate in the construction of the reservoir. Mr. Dang Thanh Hai - former Chairman of Chau Thanh District People's Committee, who was the Commander of Thanh Dien Commune Construction Site at that time, said that at that time, the entire political system participated in the movement to mobilize young people and people to participate in the construction of Dau Tieng Lake. When mobilized, people gathered to listen to the activities and registered to participate. In each batch, people of working age took turns packing their luggage to go to the construction site to work.

“At the construction site, there are competitions organized by teams and localities, the competitive atmosphere is very exciting. After being accepted, each team or locality will choose the best person to be awarded the title of Grandmaster. This activity is organized many times every year. The people who are awarded the title of Grandmaster are also very proud. At that time, Thanh Dien commune had 6-7 people awarded the title of Grandmaster,” Mr. Hai recalled.

We met Mr. Nguyen Van Ngau (75 years old, living in Thanh Dong hamlet), one of the champions of Thanh Dien commune when he went to build the lake. Mr. Ngau slowly recounted: “That day, I dug a canal from Truong Mit to Cam Giang to Thanh Dien to Bung Ra Miet (Tan Hoi commune - Tan Chau). At that time, human power was mainly used to dig and fill level 3 and level 4 canals, machines would dig level 1 and level 2 canals,” Mr. Ngau said.

For many years, Mr. Ngau had to do his military service for one month each year, divided into two periods. According to Mr. Ngau, at that time, everyone took turns working, and whoever started first would rest first. He remembered the first time he did his military service in Truong Mit commune. Even though he was a farmer who was used to holding a hoe and shovel to dig the soil and build embankments, his hands became calloused and swollen when he had to compact the thick layers of soil because he was not used to the work.

“Remembering it now makes me tired, but at that time I was healthy, and building the reservoir was my civic duty, so even though it was hard, I didn’t mind. Building the canal was hard and tiring, but the government took care of everything. Especially, those who did well were rewarded, I also went to Vung Tau beach a few times thanks to my achievements,” said Mr. Ngau.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngau has many times achieved the title of labor champion during the construction of Dau Tieng reservoir.

Sharing about the memory of being awarded the title of grandmaster when building the lake, Mr. Ngau said that he himself is healthy and knows how to apply techniques to construction. He said: "You have to know how to calculate so that the project meets the technical standards set by the irrigation industry. When the calculation is correct and the canal is reasonable, people will come and accept it immediately, without having to fix it back and forth, which is very hard."

Thanks to the solidarity of the team members, their efforts to work quickly and with high quality, his team always finished ahead of schedule. Before parting ways, everyone took the remaining rice they were given and exchanged it for noodles and other foods to create a small party to commemorate the occasion.

To this day, Mr. Ngau is still in charge of managing the irrigation system in Thanh Dong hamlet. The canal brings cool water from the lake to this remote area to irrigate the fields. This is something that the farmers here never dared to think of more than 40 years ago.

“At that time, there were also some people who did not believe in the project and discussed it. Because people had not seen the effectiveness or thought that bringing water was quite far-fetched. But that effort was eventually rewarded when the water was brought to irrigate everywhere. Now there are people who have become rich thanks to the irrigation water. Just thinking about that makes me very happy!”, Mr. Ngau shared.

Not only did Mr. Ngau feel happy when he became a champion, many other farmers also enthusiastically joined the construction work. Mr. Tran Thanh Tan in Bau Nang commune (Duong Minh Chau district) also participated in the construction work when he was young. At that time, Mr. Tan was only in his 20s and contributed to digging canals in Chom Dua and Sa Nghe areas (Chau Thanh district), and dredging canals at Tra Phi Bridge (today's Tay Ninh city).

Now recalling that time, Mr. Tan cannot help but feel nostalgic: “Although it was really hard back then, there are many memorable memories of my youth. I am very happy that I myself contributed to the implementation of a large project so that today I can help local people produce and develop the economy,” Mr. Tan shared.

Mr. Tran Thanh Tan (right cover) and Mr. Than Van Duong at canal T511, Ninh Thuan hamlet.

Mr. Than Van Duong, residing in Ninh Thuan hamlet, Bau Nang commune, has also been involved in the local irrigation system for many years. When he was young, Mr. Duong also participated in the construction of Dau Tieng lake for 3 consecutive years. Later, he was very active in supporting the dredging of the T511 branch canal to ensure that the water flowing through Ninh Thuan hamlet was clear and provided irrigation water for the people.

He said: “Previously, the T511 canal was still an earthen canal and was built high, so when it brought water from the TN5 canal, it often broke and the water did not flow smoothly. I mobilized people to participate in dredging and building embankments to make the canal flow smoothly. At first, the T511 canal only brought water to irrigate more than ten hectares, but now it has expanded to provide irrigation water to several dozen hectares of land in the hamlet and is connected to Long Thanh Bac ward, Hoa Thanh town.”

Level 3 and level 4 canals have brought lake water to many fields that were previously thought to be barren. With irrigation water, local agriculture has also diversified its crops and seasons. That is thanks to the contribution of the people.

Go with the flow

The construction of Dau Tieng Lake at that time could be affirmed as the biggest economic and political event of Tay Ninh since the liberation day. To join in the atmosphere of the festival, the participation of the press and artists was indispensable.

Journalist Phan Ky Suu (Ward I, Tay Ninh City), former Deputy Head of the Arts and Entertainment Department (Tay Ninh Radio and Television Station) was present on this important day. At that time, Mr. Phan Ky Suu was a reporter for the Social and Political section of Tay Ninh Radio Station.

More than 40 years have passed, but he still clearly remembers the atmosphere of the groundbreaking day: “That day was truly a festival with a large crowd of people, full of banners and red flags, especially young people and students. Duong Minh Chau district is usually deserted, but that day was like a great festival for the people.”

Journalist and poet Phan Ky Suu reviews the song written by musician Nguyen Van Ty about Dau Tieng Lake.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Dau Tieng Lake was the biggest event in his nearly 10 years as a reporter and an honor in the profession. With the task of recording the entire speech of the late Deputy Prime Minister Huynh Tan Phat, journalist Phan Ky Suu could not help but worry. “At that time, there were no tape recorders like today. I had to bring a huge Japanese cassette player along with a rechargeable battery. Even though I had everything ready, I was still very worried that if the machine had a problem and could not record the entire speech of the late Deputy Prime Minister, it would be a shame to the radio listeners. But fortunately, everything went smoothly,” Phan Ky Suu recalled.

Mr. Suu still remembers that news report because of the friendliness and harmony of the head of state and the excitement and enthusiasm of the people attending. “When I arrived at the scene to work, seeing the bustling atmosphere made me feel so happy that I forgot my fatigue. At that time, there were also many colleagues attending the news report such as journalist Vo Huu Thanh (late Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tay Ninh Newspaper), reporters from Nhan Dan Newspaper, Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, and Voice of Vietnam Radio” - Mr. Phan Ky Suu recalled.

During those years, Mr. Suu wrote many news and articles about the lake construction event. He also composed many poems recording the beauty of labor on the construction site such as “Little Sister”, or the image of a simple but affectionate wedding in the poem “Wedding on the Construction Site”.

Journalist and poet Phan Ky Suu has many articles about the construction process of Dau Tieng Lake.

Back then, the Dau Tieng Lake construction site not only had canal digging and earth filling activities, but also many beautiful memories left in the hearts of the youth, the people, and the artists. That was the solemn atmosphere of the union and party admission ceremonies; the joyful and exciting spirit of the sports events and cultural exchange nights.

The Department of Culture (now the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) organized many composition camps and cultural exchanges at the construction site with the participation of many famous musicians of the time such as Xuan Hong, Hoang Hiep, Lu Nhat Vu, Diep Minh Tuyen, Nguyen Van Ty... From there, the songs "Phu sa nong nan" by musician Tran Quang Huy, "Trang sang tren ho nuoc Tay Ninh" by musician Nguyen Van Ty... were born.

The West Canal carries water from Dau Tieng Lake to all the fields of Hao Duoc and An Co.

The Dau Tieng Lake project is not only a testament to the intelligence but also a symbol of the solidarity and strong will of thousands of Tay Ninh people. Those diligent workers have contributed to creating a great irrigation project, the pride of many generations of Tay Ninh people.

Vi Xuan - Khai Tuong

(to be continued)

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/bai-2-thuong-manh-dat-can--a189954.html