THE Yangon City Development Committee has started clearing debris from the city’s drainage system in preparation for the coming monsoon season.

“There are 22 sewage channels in Yangon and 122 exit channels into rivers to be cleaned up,” committee chair and Yangon city mayor Brigadier General Aung Thein Lin said at a press conference earlier this month. “The cleaning project is aimed at preventing flooding in the city when the rain starts.”

He said the committee has already started cleanup work on Kathwe channel in Insein township and on two channel exits to the Hlaing River in Kamaryut township.

“Some exit channels need repairing and dykes at some exits are in bad condition because of long use,” Brig Gen Aung Thein Lin said, adding that YCDC will spend “unlimited” money to improve the drainage system.