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Three villages in Mudon forced to pay for new fire truck; residents say purchase unnecessary
Tue 02 Dec 2008,
IMNA
Residents of three villages in Mudon Township are being forced to pay for a new fire truck, though one is already available just a few kilometers away in Mudon Town.
According to local sources, every household in Nyaung-gone, Wet Tae and Kangale villages must pay between 5,000 and 10,000 kyat, depending on income. The new tax was announced two weeks ago, without prior warning or input from local residents. Each village is home to approximately 700 households.
Significant funds have already been raised and the new fire truck has already been purchased, for 150 million kyat. The collection continues, however, and villagers are being told the surplus funds will be saved for a future project.
The surplus funds are to be controlled by fire brigade sergeant Nai Aung Phyu, from Nyaung-gone village, who is spearheading the project. According to a friend of Nai Aung Phyu’s, the sergeant was recently promoted from corporal after he captured two deserters from Light Infantry Batallion No. 409 in the end of November.
The sergeant has been bragging about wanting to show villagers his new power and authority, says his friend, who was recently at a restaurant in which Nai Aung Phyu was drinking and talking about the recent fire truck purchase.
According to another resident of Nyaung-gone, Nai Aung Phyu is not steadily employed outside of his service in the fire brigade. He occasionally boxes during festivals, she said, but is not a boxer of renown because he spends most of his time drunk. The same resident also said that, three years ago, the sergeant assaulted a woman collecting firewood in the forest.
The fire truck is currently housed in Nyaung-gone village, though another truck is available less than 5 kilometers away in Mudon Town. “I don’t want to pay money because Mudon and our village are very close,” said a resident of Nyaung-gone. “I think we don’t need fire truck. Even though they bought this truck, I do not think the fire fighters can help us.”
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