Billboards to be built tougher

“The re-erected billboards should be structurally sound enough to withstand wind speeds of 90 miles an hour, although we hope we won’t see another cyclone as strong as Nargis again,” said U Zaw Win, the head of the Yangon City Development Committee’s Engineering Department.
He said the committee is taking responsibility for removing damaged billboards carrying the YCDC label and for which advertising permits are issued directly by the committee.
But the committee is asking companies that have erected billboards to remove their own damaged billboards, he said.
“They will also need to submit another application to our department for permission to put up new billboards. They will be able to erect a new billboard of the same size at the same place but they must be structurally sound,” he said.
U Zaw Win said YCDC was also allowing residents whose houses were damaged by the cyclone to carry out repairs without obtaining a permit from the Engineering Department, as is usually required.
“We’re asking people not to take advantage of the situation by putting extensions on their houses or building them higher during reconstruction,” he said.—Kyaw Hsu Mon and Yi Yi Htwe

 

Traders employees get help

YANGON’s Traders Hotel has announced that its Hong Kong-based Shangri-La management and Shangri-La properties have donated US$70,000 worth of cash to hotel employees who have been affected by cyclone Nargis.
A spokesperson from Trader’s said 317 of the hotel’s more than 400 employees were victims of the storm. Serious damage has been caused to 80 staff members’ houses, as well as lesser damage to the residences of 237 staff.
“We’ve photographed the damage to homes and will pay renovation costs,” she said.– Pan Eiswe Star

 

MMA mobilises

TWO hundred volunteers from the Myanmar Medical Association (MMA), including specialists and general practitioners, have mobilised to provide medical care to Nargis victims in Yangon and Ayeyarwady divisions, said Dr Myint Zaw, the joint executive director of the association.
“We have formed a number of five-member medical teams to send to affected areas,” he said.
He said the association’s mobile clinic has been making the rounds in Yangon Division – including Warbalaut thaut and Latkoukone, and Hlaing Tharyar, Shwepaukkan, Thanlyin, Thongwa, Kayan and Kawhmu township – to provide medical care and relief supplies.
“We mainly focus on places that have poor access to public transportation,” Dr Myint Zaw said.
He said 20 doctors from MMA left Yangon on May 12 along with doctors from the Ministry of Health to provide medical care and relief supplies for people in Ngapudaw and Haigyigyun in Ayeyarwady Division.
He said the association and its specialist subgroups have focused on providing treatment for ailments such as diarrhoea, chest infections like pneumonia, and skin diseases.
Anyone who wishes to make a donation to help MMA carry out its relief efforts can call 378-863,380-899 or 388097 in Yangon. – Khin Myat

 

MMC donates

THE Myanmar Marketing Committee has donated US$30,000 worth of food and relief items to cyclone victims at Phya Pone in the Ayeyarwady delta. Items provided by MMC and its executive committee members (EXCOM) include rice, dhal, drinking water, ground sheets, antiseptic soaps, cooking pots and a water treatment system.
“MMC contributed $5000 and EXCOM $25,000,” said a spokesperson from the committee. “We have distributed all aid directly to the victims, and the committee is encouraging all MMC members to support the humanitarian effort." – Pan Eiswe Star

 

WMO assesses

TWO members of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) travelled to Myanmar last week to assess damage caused to the country’s hydro-meteorological infrastructure in the wake of cyclone Nargis, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
According to the organisation’s website, the WMO team was working with the Myanmar government to develop a strategy for restoring damaged infrastructure and improving the provision of meteorological information and services to support relief operations. The WMO team held discussions with department officials at the department’s headquarters on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road in Yangon on May 15. – Aye Sapay Phyu

 

Book show opens

LAWKANAT Art Gallery in downtown Yangon is hosting an exhibition of rare books from May 15 to 24, said U Khin Maung Sein, the owner of Zaw bookshop, which is organising the show.
The exhibit, originally scheduled to open on May 5, was postponed for 10 days due to the devastating effects of cyclone Nargis, he said.
The exhibit includes 3000 books, magazines and journals published up to about 1950, as well as 70 dipani (books explaining the teachings of the Buddha in simple Myanmar language) published in the early 1900s by Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923).
The exhibition is open daily from 9am to 5pm at Lawkanat Art Gallery, located at the corner of Pansodan and Merchant streets in Kyauktada township. – Aye Sapay Phyu

 

Taxis penalised

TAXIS powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) that have failed to install fare meters by the end of June will be penalised by losing their fuel ration, Police Lieutenant Colonel Aung Naing of Yangon Division Wireless and Traffic Police Force said earlier this month.
“More than 6400 of Yangon’s estimated 8000 CNG taxis do not have meters. The owners must install the meters in May and June or they will not be able to buy fuel,” he said.
Yangon Division Supervisory Committee Ensuring Smooth and Secure Transport gave permission last month for Asia Value Company to install the meters, bringing the total number of companies permitted to provided the service to four.
In January the committee called for all CNG taxis to be installed with fare meters within six months. – Shwe Yinn Mar Oo and Shin Min Nwe

 

Bus line launched

A NEW transportation service was launched on April 27 in Myanmar’s capital by the Nay Pyi Taw Traffic Rules Enforcement Committee.
The president of the Shwemyotaw (Golden Capital) service, Colonel Than Aung, said the new line was established to help reduce the number of accidents in the area.
“People can take the trucks instead of using individual three-wheelers, motorbikes and other small vehicles. This will help ensure smoother transportation in the Nay Pyi Taw area,” he said.
He said the service is being run with more than 40 domestically produced light trucks.
“These trucks are easy to maneuver in the downtown area, they have safe seats and they cost the same as riding a three-wheeler,” he said.
The trucks run along two routes in Nay Pyi Taw municipal area, with one costing K600 from end to end and the other costing K900. Rides between stops cost K200 to K300. – Aung Shin