Cable have been the means of transport across Po Ko River in Kon Tum. The provincial Party Secretary called for assistance to build bridges so residents will not have to swing across water.

VietNamNet Bridge – A cable has been the only means of transport across the Po Ko River in Kon Tum for riverside residents. In an interview with VNExpress newswire, Kon Tum Party Secretary Y Veng called for help from people at home and abroad to build bridges cross Po Ko river so residents will not have to swing across the water.

Dangerous stunt part of daily life in Central Highlands commune

As Kon Tum province’s Party Secretary and a National Assembly deputy, do you know about the dangerous means of transport of riverside residents along Po Ko River?

We know about it. After Typhoon Ketsana damaged suspension bridges across Po Ko River last September, residents used cables to cross the river. This was very dangerous, but at that time, the people had to take that measure to continue their lives.

When the typhoon arrived, we were in a meeting of the Provincial Standing Committee. We had to stop the meeting to go to each district and commune to instruct residents on coping with the storm.

But up to eight months afterwards, thousands of people, including many kids, still have to take risk their lives to cross the river by cables?

Ketsana is the strongest ever typhoon in Kon Tum, which caused serious damage, with over 50 deaths and losses worth more than 4 trillion dong. One month after the typhoon, we reported to the Prime Minister about the damage and asked for assistance..

However, Kon Tum is a poor province and we will need 5-10 years to resolve the consequences of Ketsana. We have designed projects to ask for state capital to build bridges, including suspension bridges at places where we can’t build bridges. However, we don’t have capital to implement these projects yet.

While waiting for capital from the Government, what has the province done to ensure safety?

There are some suspension bridges in place, but residents want to take a shortcut. We can’t build suspension bridges for each narrow section. Each village has one suspension bridge.

As the provincial Party Secretary, what will you do to help the thousands of people along the Po Ko River?

In this extremely difficult situation, I wish the governments at all levels to further help the people. We also hope to have the assistance and support from people at home and abroad to deal with the aftermaths of typhoon Ketsana.

PV