Plans to build stages for viewing Taunggyi’s annual hot-air balloon contests are scrapped after local groups protest the commercialization of the event.

Plans to build stages for viewing Taunggyi’s annual hot-air balloon contests are scrapped after local groups protest the commercialization of the event.
Residents of Taunggyi say that commercialization of Taunngyi’s annual hot-air balloon contests will come at the expense of local people.
Organisers of the Hpaung Daw U Pagoda Festival in Shan State said the incident would not affect the event, held annually on Inle Lake.
The refugees of Koung Jor camp decided to lay on their own Shan New Year’s festival for the first time inside the camp.