Ben Tre (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong asked the southern province of Ben Tre to adopt short and💝 long term plans to tackle saltwater intrusion when inspecting works against the ongoing disaster in the locality on March 17.

Ben Tre has lost 19,000ha of winter-spring rice crop, over 500ha of vegetables, nearly 5,800ha of fruits and 475ha of aquaculture to salinity, becoming one of the hardest hit localities. Over 88,200 households with 353,000 people lack freshwater, mostly those living in three coastal districts. As many as 162 out of 164 communes and precincts have been affected. To minimise losses, the Party leader called for switching to disaster-resistant plants and animals. He hailed the provincial Party Committee for improving local well-being on par with those in the region, partly by developing a set of specific actions. The upgraded socio-economic and technical infrastructure has resulted in a 7.3 percent economic growth per year, with the rate of poor households falling to 5.5 percent. Ben Tre should remove any arising business obstacles, improve the business climate, develop tourism and tap marine-based economic potential, the leader suggested. Lauding the province for its thorough preparations for the upcoming elections of deputies to the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for 2016-2020, he wished that the elections will be held in a democratic manner in line with the law. The Party chief also took the occasion to urge for the consistent implementation of a Resolution on Party building adopted by the 11 th Party Central Committee’s fourth plenum, saying that personnel work is of special significance. Earlier, he visited Huu Dinh commune – the only new-style rural area in Chau Thanh district and inspected salinity situation in Giong Trom commune which recently lost 90 percent of harvest-ready rice acreage. During the stay, he also visited a coconut processing plant and called on heroic Vietnamese mothers.-VNA