Narinjara news
Will THERE BE ANY COMPENSATION FOR
LAND CONFISCATED FOR SITTWE-YANGON BUS STATION ?
Sittwe, 21st December 01: The construction of the bus
station for the Sittwe Yangon long-distance bus
service has almost been completed in Sittwe, the
capital of Rakhine State, in the western part of
Myanmar. The bus station was constructed on the piece of land confiscated
from the villagers of Mingan and Kandawgree,
two miles west from the downtown area.
A villager from Mingan told our correspondent that
though the land for the bus station was confiscated last year on condition of
giving proper compensation to the affected villagers, no villager whatsoever
has yet been compensated for their lost landed property.
Meanwhile an owner of one of the commercial bus services on condition of
anonymity told to our correspondent that, each of the owners of the bus
services has already paid five million kyat for a two-story building to be used
as ticket counter for their individual bus liners (in the new station), to the
State Peace and Development Council junta since October this year.
The money so collected by the junta is supposed to be given as compensation to
the affected villagers. The names of some of the bus services are: Shwe Pyi Thaik (New Golden Land), Gyoe Pyu (White Dove), King Star,
Roma Zanee (Roma Martyr), Ann Roma, and Thain Myan Thu
(Strongman). The bus stand is scheduled to be commissioned before
the Armed Forces Day also known as the Revolution Day (March 27) next year.
Meanwhile the villagers are in a fix as to whom to approach for either starting
a lawsuit or appeal for the compensation. Besides with no agricultural land left the villagers who depend on agriculture are
at present finding it hard to keep body and soul together as their only source
of livelihood has forcefully been taken away by the SPDC junta. #
*Narinjara News is an
independent news organization focusing especially on the western side of