Safe Drinking Water Ever Scarcer in Irrawaddy Delta

By VIOLET CHO

Clean drinking water is becoming ever scarcer in Burma’s cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta as the country heads into the dry season.

The cyclone relief committee of the opposition National League for Democracy is “gravely concerned” about the lack of clean water, said committee member Dr Win Naing. “If we can not fix this widespread problem soon, people will definitely die.”

The cyclone and accompanying tidal wave contaminated village ponds, many of which are still unsuitable to use.

“Most of the villages we have visited still cannot use the water from their ponds,” said Thant Zin, a relief worker who has just returned from Laputta Township.

A resident of Panage village in Laputta Township said three unsuccessful attempts had been made to pump contaminated water out of the local ponds.

Local and international NGOs in the affected areas are helping to clean up the ponds and dig wells but were having difficulty reaching remote communities, said a World Vision staffer.

“We have hired water experts and technicians to help set up water purification machines in cyclone-affected areas such as Dedaye, Pyapon, Kyaiklat and Bogalay,” he said. “Until now we have been able to set up machine in only 15 villages and we still can’t reach villages in remote areas.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it has so far cleaned up 442 ponds and is helping to set up temporary mobile water treatment plants and large storage tanks.

Relief organizations are also having to contend with a lack of funds. Only US$ 249 million of the $482 million sought by the UN five months ago has so far materialized, according to the UN office in Rangoon.

Bishow Parajuli, the leading UN representative in Burma, said on Wednesday that funds were still needed to provide support as aid efforts move into the rehabilitation phase after the immediate needs of the emergency.

“People and communities have been severely affected. It will take a long time until the needs are met,” Parajuli was quoted as saying in a statement issued on behalf of the Tripartite Core Group, an international assistance coordination body including the Burmese government, members of the Association of South East Asian Nations and the UN.

Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster ever to strike Burma, killed at least 78,000 people, while about 56,000 are still missing. More than 2.4 million people were affected by the cyclone.