After suffering landslides and polluted water from extensive gold mining with heavy machinery, villagers are demanding that companies leave their areas in Waingmaw Township.
“I’m totally against this. We want to see the natural environment as it was before. Currently, the water in the creek is dirty and polluted,” said a resident on condition of anonymity. He said the entire community is against it, but corrupt local officials are allowing mining companies to continue mining the precious metal in the area around the Dabat Creek in Kachin State.
The creek flows through Gara Yang, Katsu and Dabak villages in the township and residents used to be able to transport the bamboo they collected in the jungle by raft, but this is no longer possible because its flow has been diverted by the mining.
Another anonymous resident said, “The water is already contaminated with mercury from the process of gold mining and we have to be careful when we eat the fish. I think this will also affect our agricultural plantations.” He said mining, which is taking place a mile away from Dabat village, has also increased the sandbanks in the creek.
At least 50 rafts and 2 big heavy machines have been mining the gold every day for the past one year.
Dabak Creek, which originates in China, flows into the Irrawaddy River near Tarlawgyi village in Waingmaw Township. About 10,000 people from 30 villages along the way who depend on the creek’s water for their agriculture.
