Narinjara News
Maungdaw, 7 May 2005
Water crisis in western border area of Burma
A number of villages in the
north of
"The water is not for my
family, it is for the Nasaka camp which is located at
Ngakhura village," he said.
The water crisis has not only
affected the local people but also officials from many government departments.
Since the crisis began,
Burmese officials have been using water from the
"We have to bring back
at least 50 gallons for Nasaka Regional Camp no 5, in
Ngakhura village, whenever we come to
But, the authorities have
made no arrangements for the public to receive water. Local people living
in the villages of Ngakhura, Krann
Byin, Dadon Kya, and Wrat Nyo
Daung are suffering the most from water shortages.
According to local people,
most villagers in the area are using water from their lakes, but the water
levels have dropped so severely it is almost impossible to fetch water with a
pot. Furthermore, there are no hand-propelled tube wells in any of the
villages except in Krann Byin,
where one well exists, but is insufficient to provide for everyone.
It was learnt that a small
amount of local people are now suffering from diarrhea, due to the shortage of
drinking water. People are anxious about the disease spreading.
If the rains do not come
early this year, people living along the border will suffer severely under the
water shortage.
The government does not have
any plans to install hand-propelled tube wells in the rural areas of Arakan state. Thus, many rural areas in the state
will have to continue suffering a water crisis every year when the summer comes.#
For further information,
please contact Narinjara:
Phone: 880 189 42 55 36
(Mobile)
E-mail:
[email protected]
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