Thanbyuzayat Township's Kaw-Lee Bridge Not yet Reconstructed Due to Lack of Funds

Thanbyuzayat Township's Kaw-Lee Bridge Not yet Reconstructed Due to Lack of Funds
by -
IMNA

The Mon State government has yet to fulfill its promise to reconstruct the damaged bridge located at the entrance of Kaw-lee Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State.

Thanbyuzayat Townships Kaw-Lee Bridge Not yet Reconstructed Due to Lack of FundsWhen Mon State parliamentarian U Naing Oo proposed that the Mon State Hluttaw aid in repairing the bridge, Hluttaw ministers promised that the bridge would be replaced.

He said: “The Hluttaw was sent a proposal to repair the bridge last year. Pyithu Hluttaw representative Nai Thein Aung also submitted this proposal to the Union Government in Nay Pyi Taw. Although the Union Government promised to reconstruct the bridge, when the 2014-2015 budget was allocated, bridge reconstruction was not included."

U Naing Oo also stated that although the bridge reconstruction project was submitted to the State Government at the 9th State Hluttaw session, there have been no plans drafted for the reconstruction. The State government said it would submit the case to the Department of Rural Development.

Kaw-lee Village Administrator U Thein Than said: “This bridge has been broken for four years, but this year it got worse. Villagers helped to repair the bridge in order to be able to cross. Still, trucks transporting goods are unable to cross the bridge, and all goods have to be taken out of the trucks.”

U Thein Than continued that the bridge is of great importance to the area, as it connects Thanbyuzayat Town and Moulmein City, and is the main route where residents, from about ten villages located in southern Thanbyuzayat Town and behind the railway, cross daily.

U Khaw a Kaw-Lee villager said: “Just a month ago, a bullock cart fell down at the bridge. This is the only bridge so we have to cross it and every time we do we are apprehensive."

The Kaw-Lee bridge is 160 ft. long and 14 ft. wide, and was constructed out of wood in 2000. An estimated budget of 160,000 kyat is needed to reconstruct the bridge as a cement bridge.