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The dry fish factory being rented out by the army in Kyaukpru in western Burma's Arakan State has been troubling nearby residential wards with the foul stench that spreads from the drying fish.
Arakan-fish-dry
A resident of Saikhontin Ward near the factory said they were unable to find a place to stay that was comfortable because the weather is hot and the foul smell from the drying fish was engulfing the whole ward.
"As the fish are dried in the open fields here, people normally choose places far from the residential wards and produce fish in the winter when the weather is cool and the fish dry easily, but this businessman backed by the army authority is drying fish in the hot summer near residential wards without any concern for the residents," said the source.
Now we do not have a place to stay and rest because the weather is hot and the whole ward is covered with the smell of rotten fish from the factory," he said.
According to the source, locally-based Light Infantry Battalion 34 has rented the public lands on the bank of the Ngalavi Creed near Saikhontin Ward in eastern Kyaukpru to a local businessman at a yearly fee of 1.6 million kyat.
Apart from Saikhontin, other surrounding wards such as Ngalavi, Kanyintaw, Prunphyumaw, Zetitaungkwin, Kalarbartaung, and Taungrun are suffering from the same foul stench that is spreading from the drying fish.
A resident of Ngalavi Ward also said, "The industry is just 100 yards from our villages and we can not stand the bad smell. Residents from all villages have signed letters and complained to the township and district administrative authorities to stop the production, but the authorities have turned a blind eye to their concern because the army is involved with the business."
The residents, however, said that they have noticed that whenever state or national level authorities visit Kyaukpru, the army notifies the business to stop production temporarily and resume when the personnel have left the town.
The local army battalions are mostly engaged with illicit businesses in Kyaukpru, apart from the unruly fish-drying business, sources added.
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