Power partially restored in Cyclone-hit Sittwe

By Admin 25 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 May 2023, Sittwe

Electricity has been restored in some neighborhoods in Sittwe, Arakan State 11 days after power outages due to Cyclone Mocha, according to local people.

The street lights along Mayu Road and near Sat Yoe Kya Bridge will be powered by a generator from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, U Than Tun, member of the Arakan State military council and Arakan State Minister of Natural Resources, wrote in his Facebook’s account.

Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Arakan State on May 14 and utility poles in Sittwe were damaged by the cyclonic storm. The lampposts are powered three hours 11 days after the devastating storm hit the Arakan State capital.

There will be charging stations near the bus terminal, in front of the local government office, Cultural Museum and Beluma Bridge for people to charge mobile phones and light bulbs, he added.

Residents said that in Sittwe, where there was a power outage after the storm, they went to homes where generators were turned on to charge mobile phones, power banks and laptops, and paid up to K1,000 to charge a mobile phone.

“We have to pay up to K1,000 to charge a mobile phone. Mobile phones are important if you want to communicate with each other. The owners of generators charge K1,000 for a mobile phone to cover the cost of gasoline,” said a local woman from Anauk Sanpya Ward in Sittwe, who does not wish to be named.

The state military council has announced that the lampposts that were damaged by the storm are being re-erected on the main roads in Sittwe, and the National Grid will complete electricity transmission to Sittwe by the end of May.