By Sun Qi

?

Drinking Water To Drought-Hit Myanmar

By Sun Qi

Ambassador Hong Liang （right） handing out drinking water to Dalla residents

"Tarut （China in Myanmar Language）is here with drinking water for us，”exclaimed residents of Dalla Township in Yangon， Myanmar’s largest city. The area has fallen victim to a severe water shortage due to drought and the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar-in cooperation with a local NGO called the Padamyar Foundation-responded May 3 by hosting a water-donation initiative. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang， Dalla Township Governor U YeWin， Chairman of the Yangon City Development Committee U Kyaw Myint Oo， members of the House of Representatives of the Assembly of the Union U YeWin and U Tun Yin， took part in the event， handing out water to residents from trucks in various locations across Dalla Township.

A Friend in Need

Myanmar has felt the impact of El Ni?o this year， with weather conditionsdryer than normal. thingyan， the Myanmar Water Festival held each year in mid-April，has come and gone. Rain has not yet fallen，and many regions in Myanmar are suffering from severe drought. Dalla Township is among the areas suthering the worst.

“Last year， China actively assisted Myanmar in the fight against the worst flood in the past 50 years，” Hong said. “this year， we are ready to join hands with the people of Myanmar to fight against the challenges of severe drought. Today， I’ve come here with the young diplomats of my embassy to donate 7，500 gallons （about 40，000 liters） of quality drinking water to the people of Dalla. We hope this donation will bring benefit to 2，000 households in relieving your difficulties in finding drinking water.”

Dalla Governor U YeWin expressed appreciation to Hong and his team.

“On such a hot day， you are the first of all foreign diplomats who have come to Dalla to assist our residents，” YeWin said.“You have helped in the same way a doctor helps his patient.”

He emphasized that Myanmar and China are friendly neighbors with deep-rooted paukphaw （brotherly） friendship.

“Supplying water is Dalla’s top priority，” YeWin said. “We look forward to technical support from the Chinese， with expert teams in Dalla to help with on-thespot maintenance.”

YeWin expressed his hope that China-Myanmar ties will deepen in the future.

The temperature in Dalla on May 3 reached a scorching 45 degrees Celsius，intensifying the need for drinking water in the area. Standing outside handing out water， Hong discussed the drought with local residents. One woman explained that the residential area in which she lives has been without water for days. Some residents are forced to use crude wells to extract water from the ground. To save water， most residents have been forced to reduce the amount of water they drink each day.

Hong responded by expressing his willingness to provide Dalla with further assistance if the drought persists. His embassy will consider bringing in Chinese experts to research how to improve Dalla’s water supply infrastructure as well as the best ways to provide disaster prevention and relief，Hong said.

Escorted by YeWin and Chairman U Kyaw Myint Oo， Hong proceeded to visit local temples and residential areas， where he and his colleagues donated more drinking water.

Source of Life

Drought conditions such as those seen in Myanmar this Spring has made Lancang-Mekong cooperation even more crucial than normal， Hong said.

“The Lancang-Mekong countries are geographically close， and linked by cultural proximity，” he explained. “It’s their shared future that has tightly knit these countries together. the neighboring countries in this region are a community of shared future，the most important component of which is water. Without water， how can we survive？ We are lucky to have such a river， but cooperation is vital. The introduction of this cooperation is a vivid representation of our special natural connection within the region， and an indication of our shared future.”

In 2015， during Myanmar’s severe flooding， China provided assistance. After El Ni?o’s impact hit the region， drought has hit not only Myanmar but also all other countries within the Lancang-Mekong basin， to varying degrees. At the request of Vietnam， China discharged additional amounts of water from the Jinghong Hydropower Station upstream in Yunnan Province from March 15. the operation did not stop as previously scheduled on April 10. The additional water flow was welcomed by the region’s countries， including Myanmar.

Such cooperation will deepen relations between the region’s countries. Recent cooperative ethorts such as the introduction of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC）mechanism will do even more to boost teamwork among countries who all depend up on the Lancang-Mekong for their livelihoods.

Ambassador Hong （right） with Dalla residents