Teachers of An Vinh Commune's kindergarten push a motorbike to get through a muddy route. —Photo tienphong.vn

BÌNH ĐỊNH — Getting to school for both teachers and students in the mountainous commune of An Lão is difficult at the best of times. 

But after heavy rains in the south-central province of Bình Định, the journey to the classroom is even more challenging. 

Roads waste away due to erosion, and rocks and mud often block the path, sometimes even forcing motorists to seek an alternative, and much longer, route. 

Đinh Thị Nê, principal of An Vinh Commune’s kindergarten, said the roads had eroded since early December. Most of the teachers are from other communes and have to overcome these routes to get to school.

On rainy days, seven to eight teachers have to take turn to push motorbikes to pass the muddy routes, Nê said.

An Vinh is a poor commune of An Lão District and home to 541 households, mostly from Hrê ethnic group.

Kindergartens and primary schools have been opened in the commune but getting to class is proving to be extremely difficult.

Đinh Văn Mẩy, chairman of An Vinh Commune People’s Committee, said erosion had made teachers’ travel difficult. Heavy rain and floods also make local livelihoods challenging. But thanks to storage, local people are not lacking food.

“A road connecting Hamlet 5 and Hamlet 6 has eroded after the heavy rain over the past few days. Local authorities then supported residents to fix the routes,” he said.

According to authorities of An Lão District, there are dozens of erosion spots after heavy rain and floods over the past days. Some spots are seriously eroded with tens of thousands of cubic metres of rocks and soil. The route connecting An Hòa and An Toàn communes itself has more than 10 erosion spots.

Trương Tứ, chairman of An Lão District People’s Committee, said the route connecting An Trung and An Vinh communes is still blocked. Due to weak foundations, local authorities have not been able to mobilise machines. Heavy machines and a large number of supporters coming to the area might face more serious erosion risk any time.

The short-term solution now is to open an alternative route through the forest and evacuate residents still trapped in the eroded areas, he told Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

Local authorities have made preparations for food and essential items so residents do not need to worry about produce, he said.

Hồ Đắc Chương, deputy director of Bình Định Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said heavy rain was one of factors causing the erosion, but it has also been caused by a number of other factors like deforestation.

People cut trees for industrial purposes and dug up land to open roads, resulting in damage to the nature and high risks of floods each time it rains heavily, he said. — VNS