Thousands of squatters across Yangon will be evicted before the new government comes to power at the end of next month, the Yangon Regional Minister of Border and Security Affairs has said.
Makeshift housing built on previously unoccupied land in Dagon Seikkan Township will be demolished from January 23. The crackdown will continue in Mingaladon Township from January 26, The Voice reported.
“We will eliminate the squatters as much as we can before the new government [takes power],” said Tin Aung Htun. “Security forces will be increased in order to avoid unnecessary problems.”
No land will be allocated for those who are evicted, he added.
Myint Kyi, a 40-year-old squatter living near Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone said: “We built and lived in this hut on the land that we bought for K300,000 as we couldn’t afford to rent a house.
“If they evict us, where will I live with these six children in this cold weather? I want the authorities to arrange a place for poor people.”
There are believed to be hundreds of thousands of squatters living in Yangon, many of who moved to the city after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta Region in 2008.
