Six hundred villagers forced to work for a week to welcome Lt. Gen Maung Bo

HURFOM

Over 600 villagers were forced by Burma Army’s Battalion No. 31 stationed in Khaw-zar Town to repair a road and work in other areas for a week to welcome Lt. Gen Maung Bo, sources in the town said.

Yesterday, Col. Than Toe of Military Operation Management Command from Ye Township, came to check the security aspects and the preparation to welcome Lt. Gen Maung Bo, who will arrive in Khaw-zar town today, said a Khaw zar resident.

The army has stopped not only people in town from going to work in their farms and yard gardens but also villagers from two villages near by were also forced to repair the road. And the carpenters have to work on unfinished buildings in town like the USDA office, the TPDC office and other governme nt buildings.

The people were made to work for the army from May 23 to 25 and from May 30 to till June 2.

People in Khaw-zar suffe red a big loss because they could not go to the fruit gardens and this is the season when durian fruits fall from trees. The fruits will rot and smell if the people do not collect it on time.

Garden owners lost Kyat 10,000 in a day because they were prohibited by the army to go outside the town and villages.

Approximately, one thousand durians need to be collected at this time of the year in the Khaw-zar township area, a resident said.

This is the best time for the yield because so much fruit cannot be collected every day later. One durian costs around Kyat 500 to 700, he added.

Garden owners said that it is only once a year that they generate big income from the gardens. But they could not go to the garden for the past week.

Most people in Khaw-zar Township eke out a living from fruit gardens and farming.

About 20 carts were used to carry bricks from the brick kiln to the battalion for a week. All the farmers had to clean and dismantle their carts to keep under the building roof.

They are grumbling and said that they will have trouble growing crops during heavy rains because the army is forcing them to work for Lt Gen Maung Bo’s visit.

Khaw-zar was raised to township level from village level by the military in 2003 and the LieutenantGeneral comes to check on how the town is developing.

Not only people from Khaw-zar but from villages along the road such as Kaloh, Hangan were forced to repair the road.

Following Lt. Gen Maung Bo’s last visit in the second week of May to Khaw-zar in the southern part of Ye township, people in Mudon Township were forced to nurse physic nut plants along the highway.

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