By Bernama,
Yangon : The Myanmar authorities are making arrangements to resettle 7,000 cyclone victims temporarily accommodated in three relief camps in Laputta, one of the hardest-hit townships in the Ayayawaddy delta region.
The 7,000 victims will be repatriated from these relief camps to their native villages with 10-day ration and be resettled at allocated houses under a lucky-draw system, China’s Xinhua news agency quoted a local daily’s report on Wednesday.
As part of its cyclone victim resettlement plan, the Myanmar authorities are building permanent houses for homeless storm victims in two cyclone-hard-hit regions, assigning some 18 private companies and bankers to implement the special project, which involves the building of some 4,000 permanent houses in Bogalay, Phyapon, Dedaye and Laputta in Ayeyawaddy division. The builder companies include Htoo, CB Bank, the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), Asia World, Yuzana, Zaykaba and Tet Lan.
Myanmar is also reclaiming land plots in the cyclone-hit areas to build up to 100,000 other low-cost provisional housings for homeless storm victims. These low-cost housings at 500,000 Kyats (US$450) each will be constructed for surviving villagers in the same Ayeyawaddy delta region’s four townships.
So far, a total of 30 private companies have been assigned by the government’s National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee to undertake reconstruction work in 17 disaster-affected areas.
Meanwhile, a Japan Platform Foundation was reported to help build 2,500 to 3,000 houses for Myanmar cyclone victims in two divisions of Ayeyawaddy and Yangon, and the project will be implemented with the cooperation of the UMFCCI.
Laputta, which lies near the mouth of sea and comprises 63 wards and villages, was totally devastated by a recent severe cyclone storm in early May, which resulted in more than 30,000 victims being evacuated to lesser-affected nearby areas for shelter.
All schools, offices and hospitals are being reconstructed in the township with an orphanage also being set up. More than a month after the disaster, Myanmar started land reclamation in the Laputta township. With government loan disbursed and paddy seeds and fertilizer supplied to farmers in the area, restoration work in agricultural had resumed in the area.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) said it will continue its ration aid supply to survivors in Laputta until September. The WFP has been distributing the ration aid supply to the area among others since late May in cooperation with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and some international non-governmental organizations after the cyclone storm hit Myanmar.
Due to the storm, over one million acres (405,000 hectares ) of farmland in 7 townships in Ayeyawaddy division, 3 in Yangon division, 2 in Bago division and 3 in Mon state were flooded by sea water with more than 200,000 cows and cattle killed, according to earlier reports.
In last June, farmers in cyclone-hard-hit areas such as Bogalay, Laputta, Ngaputtaw, Mawlamyinegyun and Dedaye in the Ayeyawaddy delta and Kungyangon in Yangon division reportedly started ploughing monsoon paddy after paddy strains and cattle-substitute powered tillers were provided to the local farmers.
With an area of 13,525.88 square-miles (35,018.5 square- kilometers), Ayeyawaddy division, which is known as Myanmar’s ‘rice bowl’, comprise 26 townships with Pathein as its main city and most of the townships lie in the delta region. The division has a population of less than 6.5 million after disaster, according to official statistics.
Deadly cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states — Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on last May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage, estimated at US$10.67 billion with 5.5 million people affected.
Latest official report indicated that 84,537 people were killed, 19,359 injured and 53,836 missing as a result of the storm.