Authorities are collecting large quantities of money from villages to repair a bridge in Karoat-pi village, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State.
Earlier this month the Thanbyuzayat Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) ordered the village headman of Krouppi, Nai Car Toon, to collect money from the villages to repair the wooden slats across the local bridge, according to sources.
Nai Car Toon was also ordered to collect money from surrounding village’s headmen for their contribution to the building project. Those villages are An-khae,we-ka-laung, Kaw Lay, Htin-yu and A-ning.
According to one villager, “At first village headman was to collect 6 million kyat from our village, but our village is very small so we can’t pay all money. Therefore, they reduced the amount we had to pay to 2 million kyat. The amount each household pays in every village depends on their household income, ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 kyat.”
The bridge was originally slated for repair in December 2007, and money was collected from Karoat-pi village during the hot season. Repairs were begun, but never completed. The new demand for funding includes the surrounding villages in addition to Karoat-pi.
“Initially when repairs first began the authorities collected money from us; 100,000 to 150,000 kyat per household. But now the bridge repairs are yet unfinished, so they’re collecting more money from us and the other villages” said the Karoat-pi villager.
Given the cost of the projects according to local residents, the additional cost of repairs is an extreme economic strain on communities already burdened with a weakened economy in Mon State. Many households have suffered from the drop in prices of rubber and beattlenut, and many have lost their jobs. Many are concerned as to how their household will produce the required tax as their members are very old and no longer have a stable income, while young people are struggling to find work abroad.
Despite the second round of taxation coming two years after they were initially need for repairs, the Burmese government newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, published on January 30 that the Karoat-pi bridge repairs are nearly 60 complete.
