Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, accompanied by Council Joint Secretary General Ye Win Oo, Union ministers U Min Naung and U Myo Thant, Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman U Than Tun Oo and officials, yesterday morning inspected on-going repairs of roads and bridges damaged in heavy rains and flooding occurrences in Nay Pyi Taw Council Area.
The Senior General inspected damaged parts of Yangon-Mandalay highway eroded by Hsinthay Creek and waiting of cargo trucks and buses for their turn to drive. On arrival at Nawin Creek Bridge (Ahson), the Senior General viewed round construction of a temporary bailey bridge. The Union Minister for Construction reported on construction of the bridge day and night for convenience of public transport.
In his response, the Senior General stressed the need to carry out repair works on the damaged parts of roads and bridges in flooding to ensure smooth transport for the people not to interrupt transport, adding it is necessary to straighten inlet and outlet channels of waterways at the bridges.
Instead of Nawin Creek Bridge (Ahson), a three-layer bailey bridge, 100 feet long with a 24-foot motorway, which can withstand 40 tonnes of loads is under construction. It is reported that the road can be used as usual on 16 September.
At Kintha Embankment, Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Min Naung reported to the Senior General on flow of torrential rains along Kintha Creek, flowing out of water from three-foot higher than the embankment, and inflow of logs, silt and sand in the dam to cause sandbanks.
The Senior General inspected occurrence of sandbanks, breakdown of the embankment in strong flow of torrential rains, and blockage of logs in the embankment. In his guidance, the Senior General said a large timber extraction upstream of Kintha creek cause lesser control of water outflow. So, he added that heavy rains caused high momentum flow of water in the creek. He continued that it is necessary to clear the waterway and remove silt and sand from the dam step by step.
Kintha Embankment was built in 1994-95, and it is an earthen facility. It can store 72 acre-feet of water. A large volume of water affected by heavy rainfalls of storm Yagi flowed into the dam and water flows three feet above the embankment. Water eroded the conduit of the embankment. Torrential rain was 12 times more than the storage capacity of the dam. Torrential rain brought sand and silt into the dam. So, the dam lost capacity of storage of water and its earthen embankment was damaged. Moreover, logs from Kintha raft jetty flowed along the waterway and hit the embankment with momentum to cause damage.
The Senior General cordially greeted residents from 3rd-mile village and asked them about overflow of water.
The Senior General inspected damaged parts of the highway at Kintha junction eroded by flooding and gave guidance on clearing debris and carrying out repair works as quickly as possible.
The Senior General also looked into progress in building a temporary bailey bridge crossing Hsinthay Creek for Thaikchaung Bridge on Pobbathiri circular road linking Zeyathiri and Pobbathiri township in Nay Pyi Taw Council Area. The Senior General and party rolled on the bailey bridge and viewed round clearing debris in flooding. — MNA/TTA
