Signage to be upgraded along Ayeyawady River

 

To support river transport, buoys and signs on the banks are in place, but they are visible only during the day.

“The first thing about water routes is that we have signage that can be used only in the daytime. In addition, these are made locally using a bamboo pole and a sandbag. There is still no navigation system for nighttime. As well, there are signposts to indicate the depth of water level positioned at 46 places in the Ayeyawady and 32 in Chindwin River,” said Sein Tun, the director of the Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems from Yangon.

There are 16 types of signposts directing river traffic on banks and in the river, and they are checked once a month.

Last year, 2,490 signs were set up along the river route and 1,375 on the riverbank along the Mandalay-Bhamo route. This year, 2,400 signs are planned for the river and 1,100 on the riverbank.

“The department is still unable to place the nighttime signs. As for now, a private company donated six water route danger markers for nighttime and two-way signs. These are set up near town areas,” said the head of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems from Mandalay.

Vessels travelling the Ayeyawady River have to recognise places along the river using their own marks and in the receding period. They often ask depth-measuring rafts to travel ahead so that their boats do not run aground on sandbanks.

At night they have to use lights to find signs on the banks and buoys.