Residents of Patheingyi Township in Mandalay Region told DVB that they are still unable to start restoration work due to ground fissures, one month after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake killed 4,461.
“Fissures are as wide as 30 feet and as deep as 20 feet in some places,” Yin Mya, a resident of Patheingyi’s Thanbo village, told DVB. Patheingyi is located 7-22 miles (11-35 km) northeast of the region’s capital Mandalay and the earthquake epicenter in Sagaing Region.
Residents told DVB that at least 40 houses collapsed in Thanbo village, forcing many to stay in temporary shelters. They added that the regime has not provided any humanitarian aid.
Regime Minister for Industry Charlie Than told a meeting in Naypyidaw that the price of cement was set at 17,000 MMK ($3.7 USD) per bag but residents of Sagaing Region told DVB that they have to ask permission to buy cement at 27,500 MMK ($6 USD) per bag from the authorities.
“We have to show photos of the damaged buildings [then] officials sell cement based on the extent of the damage,” a Sagaing resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that he had requested 50 bags of cement but was only allowed to purchase 10.
Reports indicate that the market price of cement has increased from 18,000 to 40,000 MMK ($4-8 USD) per bag since March 28. Almost all the buildings in 22 wards of Sagaing Township were either damaged or destroyed, local media reported.
Besides Sagaing, the hardest hit regions were Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Bago, Magway, and southern Shan State.
The regime in Naypyidaw has calculated that 48,834 houses and 2,171 offices and buildings were destroyed. The earthquake also damaged three of the nine cement factories, which reduced the daily production from 30,700 to 17,100 tons, it added.
Regime media reported that action was taken against eight shop owners selling construction materials after the price of cement and other products were investigated by officials after complaints from residents. The reported action taken against the shop owners was not disclosed.
An aid worker helping with restoration efforts in Thedaw and Wundwin towns of Mandalay Region told DVB that the regime allowed earthquake survivors to purchase five bags of cement each at 23,000 MMK ($5 USD) per bag.
Residents have claimed that they have received no assistance from the regime. The two towns reported 320 buildings destroyed by the earthquake.
Mandalay residents told DVB that the daily wage for construction workers has nearly doubled from 15,000 to 30,000 MMK ($3-6 USD). Mandalay is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Sagaing Region.
Residents of the capital Naypyidaw told DVB that the price of a 6 by 15 foot bamboo mat rose from 25,000 to 40,000 MMK ($5-8 USD) following the earthquake.
Bamboo mats are commonly used to build walls in makeshift shelters, and residents expressed difficulty in constructing these temporary structures due to the rising costs associated with the materials.
“We’ve been instructed to prioritize selling to [regime] officials for building makeshift offices,” a shop worker selling construction materials in Pyinmana Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
The regime plans to relocate the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Education, and Commerce from Naypyidaw to Yangon this month after their offices were either destroyed or damaged during the earthquake, sources told DVB.
Over 800 ministry buildings have reportedly sustained damage, but the regime has not disclosed further details. Naypyidaw is located 169 miles (272 km) south of Sagaing and 229 miles (368 km) north of Yangon.
Residents of Mandalay, Sagaing and Naypyidaw told DVB that the high cost of rubble clearance and demolition of destroyed buildings hinder recovery and restoration efforts.
The death toll stands at 4,461, with 2,900 bodies recovered from Mandalay, 696 from Sagaing, and 617 from Naypyidaw, according to DVB data.
