Changes in Muong Pon

Muong Pon commune left a deep impression on the resilient fighting spirit of our army in the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign.

Glorious past

Going back in history, on November 20, 1953, French paratroopers occupied Dien Bien Phu. At the same time, they sent the 2nd Mobile Corps to reinforce upper Laos and withdrew units from Lai Chau to reinforce Dien Bien Phu.

At this time, our 174th Regiment (316th Division) was marching to the Northwest to participate in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The Forward Command of the General Command (at that time, the Command Headquarters was located at Tham Pua Cave, Tuan Giao District) ordered the 174th Regiment to take on the task of destroying the enemy troops from Lai Chau to reinforce Dien Bien Phu. On the morning of December 12, 1953, Company 674, Battalion 251 of the 174th Regiment marched to Muong Pon and discovered that many enemy troops from Lai Chau were gathering there.

Determined to hold Muong Pon at all costs, our troops immediately surrounded and opened fire to destroy the enemy. The battle was tense and fierce, the French troops rushed forward with all their might, while our troops resolutely blocked and held the position.

The French counterattacked continuously, our army suffered many casualties, only 17 people remained, Be Van Dan himself was also wounded, but he continued to fight. The machine gun of squad leader Chu Van Pu could not fire because there was no place to put the gun. In the extremely urgent situation, Be Van Dan did not hesitate to run back, holding the two legs of the machine gun, placing it on his shoulder and shouting to his teammates to fire, "The enemy is in front of us, if you love me, then shoot them all!" Squad leader Pu pulled the trigger and fired at the enemy. The enemy's counterattack was broken, Be Van Dan heroically sacrificed himself with both hands still holding the gun leg on his shoulder.

The Muong Pon relic where Hero Be Van Dan used his body as a gun mount has become a "red address" for educating revolutionary traditions.

The brave example of Be Van Dan encouraged cadres and soldiers on the entire front to enthusiastically compete to kill the enemy and make achievements, creating the Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954 that "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world".

After 70 years, when coming to Muong Pon commune today, no one here does not mention Hero Be Van Dan. For a long time, Muong Pon people have always considered Hero Be Van Dan as the "god" who protects the village, bringing a peaceful life. The elders in the village still pass on to their children the story of Hero Be Van Dan as a reminder for the next generations not to forget the merits of those who fell for the peace of today.

Mr. Quang Van Tien, Chairman of Muong Pon Commune People's Committee, said: Muong Pon people have always remembered the merits of Hero Be Van Dan and the fallen heroes so that today's generation can live in peace. Therefore, activities to educate the tradition of heroic struggle from the example of sacrifice of Hero Be Van Dan are always regularly organized by units in the commune, especially in schools. The stele commemorating the name and achievements of Hero Be Van Dan in the commune has become a red address for people, young people and delegations from inside and outside the province to visit, commemorate, express gratitude, and educate the tradition of patriotism.

The project of linking the planting and consumption of purple cardamom products in Linh village has helped many households escape poverty.

Improve every day

After 70 years, Muong Pon is now different. The whole commune has 11 villages with more than 1,158 households, mainly located along Highway 12, so there are favorable conditions for economic development. These days, along Highway 12 is the green of rice fields, rubber hills, interspersed with bright red tiled roofs. Many villages have no poor households or only very few. A typical example is Muong Pon village, with 100% Thai ethnic group, with 110 households with more than 500 people, up to now there are no poor households.

A clear demonstration of the change in the Muong Pon countryside is the change in thinking in economic development of the people here. People participate in many projects applying science and technology to production, such as: Using new varieties, scientific and technological advances in winter-spring rice production on an area of 10 hectares, with 105 households from Muong Pon 1, Muong Pon 2, Co Chay 1, Co Chay 2 participating. The project to improve the quality of land specializing in wet rice cultivation on an area of 10,115 hectares with 86 households participating in the villages: Muong Pon 1, Muong Pon 2, Co Chay 1, Co Chay 2, Ban Linh and Tin Toc. The project to link planting and consuming purple cardamom products in Linh and Tin Toc villages. The project to develop livestock and poultry farming...

Mr. Luong Van Binh is one of the typical economic development models in Muong Pon commune.

Mr. Luong Van Binh, a farmer in Linh village, is one of the typical examples of economic development. In 2018, Muong Pon commune conducted a trial planting of 3.33 hectares of purple cardamom. Initially, no one participated, so Mr. Binh volunteered to take the lead in planting purple cardamom. After achieving high economic efficiency, Mr. Binh promoted and mobilized people to participate. Up to now, the village has 52 households growing 13.8 hectares of purple cardamom. At the same time, Mr. Binh took the lead in pig and chicken farming models and supported poor households in the village to do business and develop the economy. Thanks to that, he was honored to become a typical farmer of the province to receive the title "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2021".

Chairman of Muong Pon Commune People's Committee Quang Van Tien said: Upholding the revolutionary tradition, the Commune Party Committee has promoted the spirit of solidarity, promoted the role of cadres and Party members as well as the consensus of the people, taken advantage of advantages, overcome difficulties, and proposed measures suitable to the actual situation in the locality. In the past 2 years, the Commune Party Committee has promoted the pioneering role of Party members in supporting the elimination of 73 temporary and dilapidated houses; directly supported capital for livestock raising for 3 households; and guided 954 poor and near-poor households to borrow capital to develop production and business.

Rubber is one of the sources of income that helps people in Muong Pon commune to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

If in 2021, the total number of poor households in the commune was 243, then now it has decreased to 162 households (accounting for 14.39%); the number of near-poor households has decreased from 151 households to 122 households (10.83%); 476/1,158 households working in agriculture and forestry have an average living standard. Average income per capita reached 30.41 million VND/person/year.

With economic development, the care of people's material and spiritual life has been paid attention to. The Party Committee and the communal government have paid special attention to training and improving production skills for ethnic minorities by coordinating with functional agencies to open classes to transfer science and technology in production and animal husbandry. Promoting the tradition of patriotism, the government and people of all ethnic groups in Muong Pon commune are determined to unite and effectively exploit the potentials and strengths in agricultural production.

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