Burst embankment floods 30,000 acres of farmland

(DVB)– A burst embankment caused by heavy rain in Bago’s Nyaung Lay Pin township has flooded nearly 30,000 acres of farmland south of the Sittaung river, local residents said.

A farmer from Nyaung Lay Pin said there had been continuous rain for almost two weeks.

"The rain has been falling since 28 June and it still hasn't stopped yet," the farmer said yesterday.

"An embankment near Natkadaw Khin village to the north of Nyaung Lay Pin was burst by the rain."

The farmer said inadequate drainage facilities had exacerbated the flooding.

"The flooding was even worse than it was supposed to be because an embankment on east of Nyaung Lay Pin did not have enough gates to release the water," the farmer said.

"Now all the rice crops on south of Nyaung Lay Pin are under water because the government's irrigation department did not do their job properly," he said.

"Rice plants cannot survive more than four days under water – we need more seeds to start a new rice plantation to replace those destroyed by the flooding."

He said township authorities had not done anything to help the flooded farmlands apart from visiting the site to look at the damage.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw