10 June 2010: In a strange move all public fish ponds in Hakha town, Chin state western Burma have been ordered to be destroyed within June by the Hatkha Town Peace and Development Council.

“The Hakha TPDC members visited our house on June 1 and told me to destroy our fish pond by this month,” said an owner of a fish-pond in Hakha town.

The authorities also said that if any fish pond owner flouts the order, the person would have to pay Kyat 50,000 as fine, he added.

Although there is no official information on destroying fish ponds in Hakha town, some believe that the order comes after a godown building constructed by the Electricity Department collapsed in 2009 in a landslide.

Junta officials as such blamed digging of fish pond in Hakha town for causing landslides in the town area. They stopped issuing permits for fish ponds.

There are more than 1000 families’ dependant on fish ponds for their livelihood in Hakha town. The attitude of the authorities has left them worried and depressed.

“We fish pond owners earn Kyat 3 to 5 lakhs per year. But if the authorities cancel the permit it can put us into big trouble,” said a fish pond owner in Hakha town.

Chin people dig fish ponds in monsoon as a means of earning money for their livelihood.