Tuyen Quang: Clean water comes to rural areas hinh anh 1A worker inspects the Trang Da water supply station in Tuyen Quang province (Source: baotuyenquang.com.vn)
About 98 percent of the population in Hung Loi commune, a remote and disadvantaged region in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, identify with the Mong ethnic group.

Years ago, local residents suffered water shortages and used unhygienic water.

Ms Trong Thi Thu, a teacher at the Hung Loi kindergarten there, said the school board had to assign teachers to borrow water from surrounding local houses in the early days, but most of the households lacked water as well.

It was a huge inconvenience for the children and teachers, impeding on their ability to carry out their daily activities, she said.

Now, everything has changed with the clean water access at school.

With the support of the State, the commune built two clean water supply facilities in Toong and Na Mo hamlets in 2008, as part of the province’s endeavours to supply clean water supply for local people, especially those in rural and ethnic minority areas.

The facilities are designed to serve 35 local households and will be upgraded to meet the water demands of another 109 households and three schools in the commune.

Ma Van Tan, a local from Toong hamlet, recalled the difficult times when residents had to travel far from their homes to seek water for daily use. Since the clean water supply facility was built, local lives have been significantly improved, he said.

Following the success of the clean water projects in Toong and Na Mo hamlets, the provincial clean water provision centre invested in building a facility supplying clean water in Cooc hamlet and Hung Loi communal centre in early 2012.

The facility has a capacity of over 100 cubic metres per day, serving 150 households in the Le and Cooc communes, and Hung Loi communal centre.

Deputy Director of the clean water supply projects in rural areas Tran Trung Bac said from the National Target Programme’s capital sources, the province has supported upgrades to 12 clean water supply facilities and built 200 wells for households in Lam Binh, Na Hang, Chiem Hoa, Ham Yen, Yen Son and Son Duong districts.

The province strives to have 75 percent of its rural population using hygienic water by the end of 2015.-VNA
VNA