Danger lurks on the river
Trai Ca village, Dakrong commune currently has 200 households, of which 22 are Pa Ko households living in the area opposite the West branch of Ho Chi Minh Highway, separated by the Dakrong River. Every day, to get to the other side of the river, people are forced to use rowboats or motorboats.
On the boat ride home, Ms. Ho Thi On shared: This season the river water is gentle, but in the rainy season the water rises and flows rapidly. Crossing is almost impossible, but many times due to urgent matters or illness, we are forced to go. Most of my family's productive land is on the other side of the river, so we have to go to work by boat every day, and we also depend on the shared boat.
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| People volunteered to take turns rowing boats to take people across the river - Photo: LT |
According to village elder Ho Chai, the Dakrong River is the boundary between these 22 households and the rest of the village and commune. On sunny days, the shallow water is bearable, but in the rainy season, the water is red and swirling, and no one dares to cross. For many years, we have had to live in fear every time we have to go by boat to work in the fields or our children go to school. Because of this inconvenience and insecurity, many households have moved to the opposite bank to settle down. But we, because of our conditions, still have to stick with the village. Also because of going by boat, over the years, many tragic accidents have occurred.
Not only is it unsafe for adults, but more than 30 students of the village still have to wait for a boat every day to row to find letters on the other side of the Dakrong River.
Ms. Ho Thi Ngay has 5 children studying from kindergarten to high school. Every morning, she has to take each child across the river. In the summer, when the river water is low, she is less worried, but when it rains, she is always worried, sometimes she has to let the children stay home from school to be safe.
Anxiously waiting for the two shores to connect
Head of Trai Ca village Ho Van Luan said that these 22 households have lived here for a long time, forming a small cluster of villages called Voi village. Due to the terrain, people here are forced to get used to traveling by boat, but if it continues like this, it will be very dangerous. Many times we have proposed building a bridge or having a plan to ensure the safety of dozens of households, but so far there has been no response.
“100% of the households in Voi village are Pa Ko people, so life is already difficult, and the remoteness of transportation makes production, economic development, and children's education even more difficult. On the other side of the river, there is a market, hospital, and administrative headquarters, and people who want to exchange agricultural products and essential items must cross the river. Each trip depends on the weather and the safety of the water,” Mr. Luan added.
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| Ban Voi has 22 households belonging to Trai Ca village, which have lived for a long time opposite the West branch of Ho Chi Minh road by the Dakrong river - Photo: LT |
To ensure safety, villagers bought their own boats, and were supported by local authorities and benefactors with motorboats, life jackets, and rescue equipment. Households also assigned people to take turns on the motorboats to pick up and drop off villagers and students.
Mr. Ho Van Thuoc, who is in charge of taking students to school every day, shared that in the village there are nearly 30 students of different ages, so the pick-up and drop-off is flexible during the day. On average, every day, I have to drive the boat back and forth between the two river banks dozens of times to pick up and drop off the students.
“In addition to picking up and dropping off students, whenever a family in the village has a sick person or has an emergency that requires them to cross to the other side, day or night, I am always ready to take them. Many times during the rainy season, I and the young people in the village have to stay up all night waiting for the water to recede so we can take people to the medical station. We accept this dangerous way of traveling, but in the long term, we hope that the authorities will pay attention to finding a solution so that people can travel more safely,” said Mr. Thuoc.
Speaking to reporters, Chairman of Dakrong Commune People's Committee Le Hoai Phong said that the government has accepted and shared the difficulties of the people. However, the river section flowing through the village is quite wide, the riverbed is deep, and the water flows rapidly during the rainy season, so the construction of a solid reinforced concrete bridge requires time for careful survey and research.
“In the immediate future, the locality will increase propaganda and mobilize people to strictly comply with safety regulations when traveling by boat, and at the same time provide additional rescue equipment and life jackets. In the long term, we will urgently survey and find a solution to connect this cluster of villages along main traffic routes by road or plan resettlement for households. However, this is a difficult problem, requiring large resources and consensus from the people,” Mr. Phong added.
Le Truong
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202509/uoc-mo-ve-mot-cay-cau-6c56189/
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