ONE of the most easily recognised – and hard to avoid – features of Thingyan, or Water Festival that marks the New Year, are the platforms erected along the nation’s busiest streets to spray passersby with water.

These platforms, or pandals as they are commonly called, are variously dance stages, clubs, rehabilitation centres and armoured and water-gun sprouting siege towers.

Pandals can be – with the necessary township permission – erected pretty well anywhere but are most popular in a couple of areas, usually where there are ready water supplies. In Yangon the most popular destination by far is around Inya Lake on Inya Road, where nearly every possible square metre along the water-ward side of the road is covered by single, double or triple-tiered platforms.

Around Kandawgyi Lake is another popular spot in Yangon, while the Palace Moat in Mandalay draws massive crowds in that city.

Pandals are set up by a variety of people, associations and organisations, with the most successful attracting sponsorship to cover construction and maintenance charges. Another key revenue source is ticket sales, with pandal operators using different means to attract punters.

However, it’s a cut-throat game and there’s no guarantee that any pandal will make money, or even break even.

“Since 2007, the numbers of pandals sponsored by businesses have been decreasing significantly for a number of reasons and some companies have chosen to simply set up their own pandals,” Ko Nyaing Chan Kyaw, one organiser for Cupid Pandal said.

Nor is setting up a pandal cheap, with each stage costing at least K14 million and increasing depending on the decorations, equipment, location, size and entertainment.

Organisers must first seek a permission permit from the Yangon State Peace and Development Council.

With this critical permit in hand the organiser must then seek construction and water permits from the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). And then the building can start.

There are also companies that specialise in building pandals and will handle just about everything, including obtaining the necessary permission, for a price.

Each pandal takes about five to seven days to put up, with carpenters and tradesmen working day and night in the build-up to Thingyan.

However, there is every likelihood that the cost of putting pandals up will be lower than in recent years, says Ko Nyaing Chan Kyaw.

“I think the cost of pandal construction can be expected to be decreased this year compared to previous years because the raw materials are less expensive,” he said.

Each pandal is supposed to be 40 feet wide (12 metres) and 20 feet deep (6 metres) but organisers are able to apply for multiple permits and combine these into larger sites if their pockets are deep enough.

In the past there have also been some disastrous and tragic pandal collapses but recent safety and construction requirements – stating that recycled timber cannot be used in construction and each platform be strong enough to hold 400 revellers – should ensure that such scenes are not repeated this year.

The cost of tickets to any given pandal vary, with the largest, best-equipped and most popular platforms generally charging the most, although most offer special cut-price deals for those willing to buy tickets for the whole period. Most pandal organisers also undertake to provide a lunch for revellers, the value of which should not be underestimated in the hectic environs of Inya Lake during Thingyan.