Great news for Inle Lake residents (and tourists) — while several villagers were worried that the lake would face another annual drought this summer, authorities have announced that it’s smooth sailing from here on out for the rest of the year.
As Eleven reports, Tun Hlaing, Minister of Intha Ethnic Affairs, released a statement yesterday confirming that there was no longer a need to worry about the lake’s water levels this summer. Members of the Save the Inle Lake campaign also confirmed that water levels were good this year, and that unlike past years, they had yet to encounter any major troubles.
Ever since an El Nińo system dried up much of the lakebed in 2010, local residents and environmentalists have voiced their concerns that the lake could eventually dry up altogether. The summers of 2010, 2015, and 2016 saw the lake’s water levels drop so low that villagers faced difficulties going to and from places. Several of the lake’s tributaries, which are used for transportation, were so dried up that residents had to construct makeshift dams to block rivers and streams to keep the water in, and to avoid being stranded.
Worries that Inle Lake is drying up have also posed as a threat to the local tourism and farming industries, both of which rely on the lake to make their living. In addition to the evaporation of water, local residents say that bird and fish species have also been decreasing in number over the years.
However, residents can breathe a sigh of relief this year as the worst of the hot season is behind them. The recent rains from Cyclone Maarutha brought an approximately three-inch rise in water levels in the area. And with the rainy season on the horizon, Tun Hlaing confirmed, “There’s no longer a chance that the water [in the lake] will dry up this year, it can only rise.”
Reader Interactions