10/06/2026
Under the scorching summer sun, 47-year-old Daw Oo Saw Nwe and three members of her family strain to push bamboo rafts that have become stranded after drifting down from the upper reaches of the Lay Myo River.
At this same time last year, this section of the river was about six feet deep. This year, however, it is barely three feet deep and has turned into a shallow sandbank.
“A journey that used to take three days now takes about five days. Because the water is shallow, boats get stranded. When we cannot move forward, we have to stop at villages and wait for the tide to rise,” said Daw Oo Saw Nwe, who is over 50 years old and lives in Rwamani Village, Mrauk-U Township.
Her family has relied on cutting and selling bamboo from the Lay Myo River area for more than a decade.
Residents say that over the past 10 years, the river channel has become noticeably shallower year by year, while riverbank erosion in nearby villages has also worsened annually.
For local people like Daw Oo Saw Nwe and her family, who depend on the Lay Myo River for their livelihoods, the river is no longer a lifeline. It has become a “river of anxiety” that threatens both their livelihoods and their safety.
Read more: https://www.dmediag.com/feature/thcoo.html
