Thandwe: People in two villages in Thandwe Township of Arakan State have been forced by township authorities to work on the construction of lakes if they are unable to contribute financially to the project, reports a social worker from Thandwe.

He said, "The authority ordered two villages to contribute 3.5 million kyat to dig two lakes for drinking water reservoirs, but people are unable to comply with this demand due to poverty. So authorities have forced villagers to work on the lakes' construction."

A source from Thanwe said that the government had allocated 3.5 million kyat from state revenues to construct two lakes at two villages - Greataw and Kauk Kyi - and also ordered the two villages to contribute 3.5 million kyat for the construction.

However the villagers are unable to comply with the government's demanded money, so the authority has used instead used them as forced labor to make up the difference.

All villagers from the two villages, located 20 miles away from Thandwe district town, are now working on the lake construction, with the lakes scheduled to be finished before this forthcoming rainy season.

In Arakanese traditions, people strongly believe that if they contribute their wages and souls to public works such as reservoir and bridge or road construction, they will gain great merit for their lives.

The authorities have now taken advantage of this belief in forcing people to work on the construction of the lake reservoirs without compensation, said the social worker. #

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