Sittwe residents face water shortage as major lake dries up

By Admin 25 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
24 February 2023, Sittwe

Kandawgyi Lake, a major supply of water to the Arakan State capital Sittwe, is drying up, and town residents are concerned about an inevitable water shortage during the coming hot season.

 At least five wards — Kandawgyi, Danyawaddy, Arjeiktawgon, Ywatharyar and Mizan — are already facing drinking water shortages due to an irregular supply from Kandawgyi Lake.

Residents have been forced to buy water for household use, paying as much as 4,000 kyats per barrel, said Daw Yi Yi Than of Danyawaddy Ward.

“If you use 10 barrels a month, it will cost you 40,000 kyats. Some people might not be able to afford it. In my house, a barrel lasts for a day. And we also have to buy bottled water for drinking,” she said.

While residents from other wards still have access to water supplied from Kandawgyi Lake, not every household in those wards is getting it, according to local people.

Residents living along the main road in Kandawgyi Ward do not get water from the lake, according to ward residents.

Ward resident Daw Than Nu Yi said: “Residents down the street can buy water from artesian wells. But it is not convenient for us to fetch water from artesian wells. Though we live near the lake, we can’t use water from the lake.”

Residents dependent on Kandawgyi Lake regularly face water shortages during the hot season. Residents of Mingan Ward have to rely on artesian wells as they have no access to water from Kandawgyi Lake.

Even at the height of the annual rainy season, Kandawgyi Lake’s water volume has declined year after year over the past decade.

Local residents have called on the Arakan State Administration Council (ASAC) to address the water shortage that residents are already facing before the 2023 hot season begins in earnest over the coming weeks.

“We’ve seen them dredge Kandawgyi Lake every year with backhoes,” said Sittwe resident Ma Htay Htay. “As the town population has increased, the lake can’t provide sufficient water. We want authorities to supply sufficient amounts of clean water systematically.”

DMG’s calls to Daw Khin Khin Soe, executive officer of the Sittwe Township Development Committee, and ASAC spokesman U Hla Thein went unanswered on Friday.