“Local people cannot accept to build houses near Rih lake without being consulted by the authority,” said Pu Dawla, NLD chairman for Rihkhawdar Sub-township.

Rihkhawdar Sub-township Administrator Pu Ca Awi who is overseeing it invited departmental officials, politicians and locals for discussions about the housing project that involves the cutting of trees along Falam Road, 150 yards from Rih Lake.

Thirty plots have been reserved for state ministers and families, Pu Ca Awi said. Two roads will be constructed around the lake.

“If the project goes through, the natural beauty of the lake will be spoiled and it will become dry soon. So, there needs to be protests against the project,” said one local that didn’t want their name used.

A Chin National Front (CNF) official said that lake is heart shaped therefore symbolic of the Chin people and their state and must be preserved in its natural beauty.