The Yangon city government has been making a lot of noise lately about flood preparations: municipal workers spent the dry months busily improving drainage systems in the hopes that apocalyptic scenes of watery chaos would be averted this year.
As anyone downtown this weekend can testify, that was to no avail.
Amid a torrential downpour on Saturday morning, the streets were flooded within hours. Pictures posted to social media showed expensive cars floating downstream and residents wandering through thigh-high water.
Flooding took place in several of the same places where work had been done, including Tamwe and South Okkalapa townships, according to Eleven Media.
But the fault apparently lies with the public.
State-run newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar published two op-eds on Sunday and Monday that placed the blame firmly on litter-louts.
“Floods on roads, streets and residential quarters in rainy seasons in Yangon have been one of the headaches of city authorities for some years,” wrote Myint Win Thein in Monday’s edition.
The authorities have taken a number of measures to stop them including building sewers and dredging drainage systems but the scale of the problem proved too big, he added.
“When drainage systems were dredged, it was found that most of them are blocked by rubbish dropped by residents indiscriminately.
“Therefore, the city authorities may not have enough resources to wipe out the floods on streets, roads and residential quarters overnight.”
Sunday’s editorial, meanwhile, urged residents to “join hands with YCDC in making Yangon a clean and green city free from floods during the rainy season by properly disposing of their waste in dustbins.”
Photo: Coconuts Media
