YANGON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Water supply has started to
resume in some areas of Myanmar's biggest city of Yangon since Monday night
after the city's electricity-run water works, hit by a recent deadly cyclonic
storm, re-operated with the installation of a high-wattage generator, the state
newspaper New Light of Myanmar confirmed Tuesday.
An initial of some six main townships such as
Kyauktada, Botataung, Pabedan, Pazundaung, Lanmadaw and Mingala Taungnyunt have
got supplied with water again after urgent installation of the
1,375-kilovolt-ampere (KVA) generator, the report said.
Each household can tap the water sources at their
respective inlet points of their houses. However, water still cannot be pumped
up to tanks erected atop buildings as electricity supply keeps failing to
operate water pumps.
Residents in the former capital had rushed for water
over the last two days in the aftermath of the cyclonic storm strike on last
Saturday.
Some municipal-authorities-owned water supply
vehicles were distributing water to local residents, while some private
individuals, who have tube wells built in their residential compounds, were also
donating water with the use of generators-operated pumps to people, who drove a
long way and queued themselves to pick up the water.
Most of the shops in the city ran short of purified
drinking water, while some manufacturers sold the water at a price over three
times the original due to higher cost at a time without power sources.
The deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred
over the Bayof Bengal, hit such coastal towns in southwestern Ayeyawaddy
division as Haing Gyi Island, Pathein, Myaungmya, Laputta, Mawlamyinegyun,
Kyaiklat, Phyarpon and Bogalay as well as the Yangon city, almost totally
devastating these areas.
The cyclonic storm torn away roofs of government,
public and residential buildings, brought down uncountable big and small trees,
forced down some walls, blew down many lamp-posts, telephone lines and
billboards, and destroyed some jetties.
A total of 67 powered vessels were sunk by Nargis,
the authorities said.
Myanmar has declared five divisions and states --
Yangon, Bago, Ayeyawaddy, Kayin and Mon, hit by the recent cyclone storm, as
natural-disaster-hit regions.
Relief and resettlement measures are underway after
the government formed a national central committee for prevention of natural
disaster to promptly and effectively carry out the undertakings.
It was the first time that Myanmar was striken by
such a deadly cyclone storm in the history, suffering the heaviest damage.