A man holds a pipe used for filtering sand on the bank of the Ngamoeyeik Creek in North Dagon township, Yangon.

ACTION will soon be taken against unlicensed sand and granite suppliers who collect materials from Myanmar rivers without the approval of the Department of Water Resources and Improvement of River System (DWRIRS), an official with the department warned on October 5.

“We have been inspecting rivers since last month to check if sand producers operating along them have approval from the department or not. If they are found to be without a licence, we warn them and ask them to apply for one as this is the educating period,” said U Thaung Lwin, a deputy director with the DWRIRS.

“However, we plan to take action in the near future against those who continue to operate without a licence,” he added, without revealing what punishment violators of the law would face.

The department introduced the Conservation of Water Resources and Rivers Law in October 2006 to limit activities that were potentially harmful to the country’s river networks, such as those that may alter channels, silt up rivers or the erode river banks, U Thaung Lwin said.

“The law requires every business that sources sand and granite from the country’s rivers to first get permission from the DWRIRS,” he said.

The law replaced one-year licences that were issued by the General Administrative Department, which operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“Most people are not well-informed about the law so we have been informing them. And now, we are considering taking legal action against them,” U Thaung Lwin said.

Sand, usually taken from river mouths, is a key ingredient of cement.

Several businesses expressed interest in increasing their sand production after Singapore said earlier this year it wanted to import sand and granite from Myanmar to help feed its booming construction industry.