The protest march, which started at 6.30am, went from Kyar-Kan Lake in Takhun-Tai Village to Wet-Tae Village in Mudon Township. Protesters held placards bearing slogans like: “Excavate the Natural lakes” and “Don’t Let the Natural Lakes Disappear.”
U Maung Myint, a protester from Wet-Tae village said: “We complained to the Mudon Township Administration Office and also at the State Office, but we have not yet received a reply. That is why we went and complained at Naypyidaw, the capital, on 2 February, we have also received no reply [to that complaint] yet. We asked permission from the township authority to protest about the [sale of] the naturally silted up lakes. They gave us the permission, so we carried out our protest.”
U Myint Naing, a protester from Takhun-Tai village said: “The village administrators created housing lots on these silted up lakes then they made announcements over loud hailers saying that anyone who wanted to buy a lot should submit an application.”
The silted up Kyar-Kan Lake in Takhun Village is an area of about 60 acres on which 43 housing lots have been created, the lots have not sold out yet. The silted up Wet-Tae Lake in Wet-Tae Village covers an area of about 14 acres and the authorities have created 54 housing lots on the former lake. According to protesters the authorities said that the price of one lot would range from 500,000 kyats to 2.5 million kyats.
Protesters said they were not seeking to individually benefit and were protesting on behalf of local residents. The areas around the silted up lakes have been green and fresh for a very long time. Local residents want the silted up lakes to remain in their natural state, which is why they were protesting their sale.
