Taungup locals seek halt to construction of petrol station in residential ward

By DMG 29 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
29 October 2021, Taungup 

Residents are urging local authorities to intervene to halt the construction of a filling station and oil storage tank in Kaing Shay ward, a residential area in Taungup, Arakan State. 

U Nyein Htay, a resident of Kaing Shay ward, said the planned petrol facilities are very close to residential neighbourhoods and locals are opposed to them being built at the designated site. 

“Construction of a filling station and fuel storage facility could be a fire hazard for us because this is a residential area,” he explained. 

A fire that broke out in Taungup in 2012 burned down some shops and houses in the town. Local authorities and town elders subsequently decided to relocate the petrol stations in downtown Taungup, putting a stop — at the time — to construction of petrol stations in residential and municipal areas. 

U Ye Min Aung, a local resident living on Thamadi Street near the petrol station, said that although residents had informed local authorities that they did not want the petrol station being built in the residential area, nothing had changed. 

“Authorities have not yet commented on the matter. It is being built on a site that has already been declared by the government. Therefore, the construction of the filling station needs to be addressed before it is completed,” he added. 

According to locals, the construction of a petrol station in a residential area violates Section 17 of the Myanmar Fire Brigade Law issued by the township fire prevention committee. 

The Taungup Township administrator was contacted by DMG but did not return a call seeking comment on locals’ opposition to the petrol facilities being built in Kaing Shay ward.