Gem company builds road on Kachin creek
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HPAKANT - A gem company is building a road on the side of Uru creek in Kachin State, to enable the passage of trucks to a mine, said local people.
The road is some 40 feet wide, said residents of Mahmon village, Hpakant in Kachin State.
They were concerned that filling the creek with earth would make the creek narrower. As such, danger of floods during the raining season could be more imminent.
In the raining season in 2014, Hpakant witnessed the worst floods in history. Most people including the schoolchildren had to face difficulties in moving one place to another. If the creek becomes narrower, villages in the upstream of Hpakant could also witness floods.
Hpakant region has more than 300 joint venture companies and 500 private-owned companies working on over 15,000 gem blocks. Local people have complained about pollution from the mining activities as waste is being dumped into the creek.
State MP In Phan Garan said recently that he would submit a proposal of possible danger of flood in most villages in Hpakant to the respective parliaments.
