By Xinhua,
Yangon : One more cyclone-hard-hit township, Kungyangon, in Myanmar’s Yangon division has been ploughed with 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) of monsoon paddy after paddy strains were provided to local farmers, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.
Recultivation of paddy took place at Kamapa village in the township, the report said, adding that low-cost housing units are also being built for farmers in the area by the Asia World Company, one of the 30 private companies assigned to take up the restoration work in disaster-torn areas in the aftermath.
Kungyangon stood another Nargis-hit township with resumption of agricultural work along with Laputta, Ngaputtaw, Mawlamyinegyun, Bogalay and Dedaye in Myanmar’s southwestern Ayeyawaddy delta where monsoon paddy ploughing have started in a collective manner.
Of these areas, Dedaye is being tasked with a target of cultivating 182,143 acres (73,767 hectares) of monsoon paddy using powered tillers provided in place of storm-swept draught cattle.
Earlier, farmers in the hardest-hit Laputta township had received a loan of over 441 million Kyats (over 400,000 U.S. dollars) disbursed to them with the provision of paddy seeds and fertilizer for the restoration agricultural works in the area.
Besides sending some 600 buffaloes to the area, the authorities have also provided 238 powered tillers for ploughing.
Ayeyawaddy division was traditionally known as the “rice bowl” of Myanmar.
According to official statistics, over 1 million acres (405,000hectares) of cultivable lands were flooded with sea water in 7 townships in Ayeyawaddy division, 3 in Yangon division, 2 in Bago division and 3 in Mon state during the storm with over 200,000 draught cattle killed.
Myanmar estimated the damage and loss caused by the storm at 10.67 billion U.S. dollars with 5.5 million people affected. Of the affected, over 1 million homeless have been evacuated to temporary shelter, the authorities said.
Myanmar government has said that large amount of fertilizer, more fuel and hand- and powered- tillers are needed for cultivation to replace the cattle lost in the storm as well as fishing boats and vessels, fishing gears and fuel oil for resuming fishery work.
The government also said that it has spent up to 70 billion Kyats (63.63 million U.S. dollars) in the relief efforts.
The loss with the marine sector stood the second after paddy cultivation sector, businessmen estimated, saying that the marine sector lost 20,000 expert fishery workers in the cyclone storm with the Laputta township alone losing 13,000.
Fish and prawn breeding ponds in Yangon division’s Twantay, Kayan and Kyauktan townships as well as those in Ayeyawaddy division’s Dedaye township were much destroyed by the storm Nargis.
Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states — Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago,Mon and Kayin on May 2-3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructural damage. The storm has killed 77,738 people and left 55,917 missing and 19,359 injured, according to the official-released death toll.