State military council touts water purifier rollout for storm-hit in Arakan

By Admin 22 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
22 May 2023, Sittwe

The Arakan State military council has said that clean drinking water is being distributed in some townships affected by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State using LifeStraw water purifiers that can be transported easily and do not require electricity.

Fifty water purifiers have already arrived in Arakan State. The 160 additional water purifiers due to arrive soon will continue to be sent to towns and villages affected by the storm, said Arakan Daily, a mouthpiece of the Arakan State military council.

“Yes, water is being distributed with the use of water purifiers, but it is not enough for local people,” said a resident of Ballone Kwin Ward in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, which was particularly hard-hit by the cyclone.

The state military council said that a water purifier is capable of purifying natural water drawn from sources like Sittwe’s Sat Yoe Kya Creek, purifying 15-20 litres an hour and providing enough for 100 people per day.

Ko Nay Lin Myint, a social activist from Rathedaung, said that although the state military council is distributing clean drinking water in some urban neighbourhoods with water purifiers, there are many neighbourhoods without water.

“The state military council has been supplying drinking water with two trucks with water purifiers for three days, but not everyone has received it. The water supply is by no means sufficient, so I expect a lot more water to be donated,” he said.

As a result of the storm, salty water has entered the wells and lakes, storm victims have had to use unclean water, and they are worried that it will affect their health.

Widespread complaints have arisen about a disparity in favour of urban populations at the expense of rural ones in terms of access to clean water services like the purifiers being touted by the regime. 

DMG phoned U Hla Thein, spokesperson and attorney-general for the Arakan State military council, to find out how the water purifiers will be distributed to the affected townships in Arakan State, but he could not be reached.

A total of 1,156,796 people were affected by the cyclone and accompanying flooding in Arakan State, with financial losses totalling nearly K4.7 billion, the junta’s Arakan State Administration Council said on Friday.