Rathedaung residents urge township municipality to take out the trash 

By Admin 26 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
26 March 2023, Rathedaung

Waste is scattered near Pyidawtha Lake in Rathedaung, Arakan State, and the drains are full of garbage, say residents, who are urging the concerned parties to do proper work on the garbage collection system.

“The smell of that garbage dump made me sick,” said Daw Mya Aye, a resident of Ashae Mrauk, one of Rathedaung’s four wards. “The garbage dump is very dirty and pollutes the lake. Due to the bad smell of the garbage dump, the health of the people living nearby is also affected. The township municipality never collects the garbage from the landfill site.”

Rathedaung residents said that when there is a strong wind, garbage from the dump falls into the lake.

“The smell of the garbage dump was unbearable,” said Daw Ma Than Yi, another resident of Ashae Mrauk Ward. “People throw their garbage in this dump. If it continues like this, there will be diseases for the locals. If the township municipality doesn’t want to strictly monitor the garbage, I would like to make a place for people in the neighbourhood to throw garbage.”

Residents said that the garbage near Pyidawtha Lake is often cleared by local residents, but it is not properly maintained by the relevant authorities.

“Even though there are warning signs that people who throw garbage [in the lake] will be fined, it is not effective,” said the administrator of Ashae Mrauk Ward, U Kyaw Than Hlaing. “Some people have destroyed the warning signs. The township municipality collects household waste, but does not collect waste from the garbage dump.”

DMG was unable to obtain comment from officials of the Rathedaung Township Development Committee regarding the matter.