Houses in Bago demolished by township authorities

By DMG 20 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
20 December 2021, Bago 

The Bago Township Development Affairs Committee was reportedly behind the demolition of several houses near the Suite Star garment factory in Bago town, Bago Region, on December 20. 

A resident told DMG that some locals are facing accommodation difficulties because their houses and shops were torn down. 

“We received a letter once before the houses were demolished. But I neglected it,” the resident said. “The letter was sent on December 9. This morning, people from the Bago Township Development Affairs Committee and police force came and destroyed houses by bulldozer.” 

The resident added: “We were relocated when the highway was built. Then, we were relocated again when the roadside ditch was built.” 

More than 70 of 700 houses in the area were demolished, with losses estimated at more than K10 million, according to residents whose houses were flattened in the operation. 

On December 17, the Bago Township Development Affairs Committee also toppled some parts of the gateway to Kyaik Pun Pagoda in Bago town, saying the structure was too close to the road. 

The township development committee sent letters to houses and shops that were deemed too close to the road, ordering them to remove the structures, but the committee had to demolish them when the affected residents did not abide by the notice, said a source close to the committee. 

On December 18, the township committee demolished more than five shops on the Bago-Thanapin road as well, claiming they were too close to a preschool.