Ahlat Dyke will be repaired in a month, says Mon Chief Minister

A Paung Township dyke that was just one month old when it failed in May will be rebuilt within the month, according to the Mon State Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan. Speaking at a press conference on June 1, the chief minister said that the department of construction will handle reconstruction.

Construction on the Ahlat Village dyke started in in February 2017 and was completed in April, at a cost of 4,560 lakhs ($333,800). A storm on May 27 caused the dyke to fail along a 100-foot section sending water rushing in a destroying five houses.

“The dyke was built by the construction department so they will be responsible for repairing. They will have to use their own funds because we will not allocate extra money to fix it” Dr, Aye Zan said. “The dyke failed because it was not built to code.”

There are no protective mangrove forests in the area where the dyke was built, leaving it exposed to flooding and erosion, especially during June and July, according to residents. In addition to rebuilding the dyke, the government has also agreed to plant 15 acres of mangrove in early June.