Sittwe: Residents in Sittwe are currently suffering from imposition of high taxes  by the municipal department for water, after a new water pipeline was installed in place of the old pipeline that had been constructed during British rule in Arakan, said U Kyaw Maung from Kyi Bin Gyi Ward.

"The Sittwe Township Municipal replaced the water pipeline in Sittwe recently in order to get clean water for the people of Sittwe. It is good, but now people are suffering because the municipal officials asked for a lot of money from people for the distribution of water to each house," he said.

One resident has to pay 3,000 Kyats for an application form and 52,000 Kyats to the municipal office when applying for water supplied through the new line.

"We do not know why the municipal office collects 52,000 Kyats from each residence for water supply, because the officials never issue any receipt of payment or document to the people after they pay the money. Because of this, we are all suspicious that the money collected is for both government tax and the officials' own interest," he said.

Another source from Sittwe said that a household in Sittwe has to spend at least 100,000 Kyats to get water from the municipality because of the extra cost of setting up and paying for construction on connecting pipes from the home to the central line in order to access the water.

Many poor families in Sittwe, especially in wards Wra Gyi Mrauk, Sin Gu Land, Shwe Pya, and Kaung Tet Lan, are unable to get water from the municipality because they are unable to pay the necessary amount of money.

A young woman from Baulk Thee Su Ward said, "We have to go to one place, where there is a water supply hydrant, to carry water in our own pots every morning and evening. But the municipality supplies water only for an hour at a time, twice a day."

A eyewitness from Sittwe said that many young women line up with their own pots near the water hydrants to carry water home twice a day, but they are unable to get enough water to meet their household's needs because of the high demand and crowding at the pumps.

"We have not had enough water in my house for my family for many days. Sometimes we have no chance to bathe because there is no water in the house. It is a big challenge for poor families in Sittwe but the authorities never considers fulfilling what people need for their survival," the young woman said.