Independent Mon News Agency

September 24, 2003

1400 families will be relocated for the construction of new railway and station in Moulmein

With a plan to construct a railway and serial stations in the middle of Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, the SPDC authorities ordered 1400 families along the planned route to destroy their houses and relocated in October, said by a 40 years old trader from the city.  

The families in Myay-ne-gone and Hlaing city wards are forced to destroy their houses and they would be relocated in a field just outside of the city, which are called ‘Ngan-day’ and ‘Phat-khin’ city wards.  

The authorities provided money 1000 Kyat (approximate 1 US Dollar) per 1 feet of brick house; 300 Kyat per 1 feet of wooden house; and 200 Kyat per 1 feet of bamboo house, as a cost to use when they destroyed their houses.    

On September 21, the authorities led by Ward Chairman took photos of the destroyed houses and then forced the relocated families to pay 1500 per household to develop the photos.

To resettle these families, the authorities are measuring 80 feet length and 60 feet width land plot for each family outside of the city.   The authorities said they would sell these plots of land at low price to them, but they did not set the price yet.  

According to the instruction by the authorities, the families who plan to build the brick houses will be resettled along the main in the new ward, the families who plan to build the wooden and bamboo houses will be placed inner plot of the wards.  

The planned railway station is large and about 200 acres of land in Myay-ne-gone city ward is also confiscated, in which an cemetery was destroyed.  A railway, which begins from Rangoon will cross a longest bridge in Burma (which is cross over Salween river but under the construction, near Moulmein city) and proceed to this new railway station.  

The current existing railway station is on the opposite side of Salween riverbank of Moulmein City and the passengers cross the river by ships to reach the city.  For the smooth communication, the regime planned to build this longest bridge over the Salween river.