Sittwe residents call on regime to fulfil promise of improved water supply water for the town

By Admin 03 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
3 March 2023, Sittwe

Local residents in Sittwe have called on Myanmar’s military regime to fulfil its promise to ensure a reliable water supply in the Arakan State’s capital, which faces water shortages annually during the hot season.

During his trip to Arakan State, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing revealed plans to explore groundwater near Kandawgyi Lake with the use of modern equipment to ensure the lake always has water to provide a steady supply to wards in the town.

He also revealed plans to dredge Kandawgyi Lake and pipe water from Khami Kyeinchaung reservoir in Ponnagyun Township to the lake. Kandawgyi is the major lake supplying Sittwe residents.

“Besides storing and distributing freshwater, we also have to consider ways to turn saltwater that is available in the region into freshwater,” Min Aung Hlaing was quoted by junta-controlled newspaper Myanma Alin as saying to departmental personnel in Naypyidaw.

Sittwe resident Ko Aye Naing said the plan sounds good, but he cast doubts about its implementation.

“Nothing will happen just by paying lip service. If it does have the will, it must adopt plans at the national level, and work together with technicians,” said Ko Aye Naing.

Local people said the plan to turn saltwater into freshwater will require technologies and pumping stations, which will be costly and need electricity. Myanmar has been suffering from serious power outages since late 2021.

“There are several stages to turn seawater into freshwater,” said U Zaw Naing Tun, owner of the Zaw bottled water production facility in Sittwe. “It needs an advanced water purification system to get potable water. The government needs to spend a huge budget. This project may work if the government provides funds. But private businessmen alone will not be able to implement it.”

Despite the fact that Kandawgyi Lake is dredged every year, the lake still dries up in the hot season. Some five wards in Sittwe are already facing water shortages in just the first few weeks of the hot season.

It is a better plan to pump groundwater than turning seawater to freshwater, said community elder U Maung Thar Sein.

“It will be costly to turn saltwater to freshwater. Pumping groundwater will take less time, and solve the water crisis in the shortest period of time,” he said.

When asked by DMG about the regime’s plans to supply water for Sittwe town, director U Kyaw Moe of the Arakan State municipality said: “I can’t tell details because we have just started to make preparations regarding Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s instruction about water supply.”