According to a report U Hlawn Sa Vung called three of the headmen from the four villages earmarked to take in flood victims and told them that the land allocated to the flood victims had been previously allocated for different purposes under a new town planning project.

One of the displaced people said: "We had already cleared the forest so that we could move there from our old damaged villages as the District and Township Administration had ordered us to. But, on the second day we were clearing the land the head of the municipality opposed the order and now we don't know what to do.

"He [U Hlawn Sa Vung] said that the land has been reserved for building a new town and if we move onto that land no rich people from Mandalay or Yangon will be interested in it. We explained to him that we have no other option as we have faced a severe natural disaster and [responding to] our plight is more important than pleasing rich people, but he would not accept this argument. This has left us unable to take any further decisions about what to do."

A villager from Laizo Village said that in his opinion U Hlawn Sa Vung was being dishonest in this matter as he has already selected an area of good land and has contracted rich businessmen in Falam to construct buildings for him in that area so that he can use them for his businesses.

The land that has been allotted to the displaced villagers lies between the villages of Lungpi and Zahla.

In July 2015 heavy rains destroyed about 20 villages in Falam Township.

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI