Food shortages and swelling rivers stymie villagers’ efforts to recover Skip to main content

Food shortages and swelling rivers stymie villagers’ efforts to recover

By Maung Zaw With AFP   |   Wednesday, 05 August 2015
Food shortages have struck some towns in Magwe Region where heavy monsoon flooding has left residents without access to drinking water, has caused massive power cuts and has submerged crops.
Families taking refuge at the Ka Lal Kone Village Monestary in Pwintbyu township wait for water levels to recede. (Aung Khant/The Myanmar Times)Families taking refuge at the Ka Lal Kone Village Monestary in Pwintbyu township wait for water levels to recede. (Aung Khant/The Myanmar Times)
As Cyclone Komen lashed through Myanmar and augmented intense monsoon downpours, flash floods and landslides killed at least 63 people and displaced more than 215,000, though the UN has said the numbers will likely continue to rise as the worst-affected areas face ongoing, swamp-like conditions and further downpours.
The torrential rains have also taken a toll on neighbouring Bangladesh and India, where entire villages have been swept underwater. In West Bengal, 1.2 million people are staying at temporary shelters, while 180 lives were claimed throughout the country.
In Kaungtawya Pagoda, Seikphyu township, where many flood victims are currently living, there has been a lack of food after the area was cut off from transportation.
“Due to engine boat trouble, transportation is difficult in this area,” said Ma Khin Thein, a flood victim from Minzan village.
“Even though some people come and donate here, they cannot carry much because there is no motorised boat to bring them. So the amount of food is not enough, especially for the people who remain in remote villages,” she said.
Tens of thousands of people nationwide remain isolated as officials warn that swollen rivers are now threatening to inundate low-lying southern areas of the country.
In Magwe Region, Minzan, Mandalaysu, Thajetaw, Thafandan, Thaminchan, Winjwa and Kanphyu-ku are also all practically cut off, even though the water level has began a gradual decline.
“Nobody dares to come to this village as they have to cross Moun Creek with its strong water current,” said Ko Aye Than, another local flood victim.
There are some 15 villages between the Ayeyarwady River and Moun Creek where people are facing dangerous conditions including collapsing riverbanks and strong currents, according to residents from Minzan village.
In Pwintbyu township, the water level has begun to recede, and residents have started to return and attempt to muck out their homes and repair all the damaged infrastructure.
“The water level is dropping, so rehabilitation started from August 3,” said a township official who declined to provide a name.
“However it is difficult business, and there are fallen electricity lines and dirty school buildings needing repairs. Military, police, fire brigades and the public are all involved in this process.”
A police official told The Myanmar Times that schools and hospitals will soon be reopened.
According to state-run media, more than 1300 schools across the country had been closed due to the flooding. Parliamentary sessions have also been suspended.
“I will now go back to my village because the water level has decreased there. After cleaning my home, I will do my job as before,” said U Kyaw Soe from Thayet Oat village near Pwintbyu.
Translation by Khin San May and Thiri Min Htun
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/15834-food-shortages-and-swelling-rivers-stymie-villagers-efforts-to-recover.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

ARSA claims ambush on Myanmar security forces

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Sunday claimed responsibility for an ambush on Myanmar security forces that left several wounded in northern Rakhine state, the first attack in weeks in a region gutted by violence. Rakhine was plunged into turmoil last August, when a series of ARSA raids prompted a military backlash so brutal the UN says it likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority. The army campaign sent some 650,000 Rohingya fleeing for Bangladesh, where refugees have given harrowing accounts of rape, murder and arson at the hands of security forces and vigilantes. Myanmar's military, which tightly controls information about Rakhine, denies any abuses and insists the crackdown was a proportionate response to crush the "terrorist" threat. ARSA have launched few attacks in recent months.  But the army reported that "about ten" Rohingya terrorists ambushed a car with hand-made mines and gunfire on Friday morning

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do