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    Lead Story Mandalay Division Natural resources News Photos

    IN PHOTOS: Flow of the Irrawaddy

    • By COLIN HINSHELWOOD / DVB
    • 9 October 2015
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    • DSC_0273 Trade and transport at Sagaing. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0276 Luxury flotillas like the Orient Pandaw offer tourists cruises on the Irrawaddy. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0319 The Sagaing Bridge links the main cities of Mandalay and Sagaing. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0259 Sunset over the Irrawaddy. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0487 The transportation of teak logs has been the most common traffic on the Irrawaddy River since the days of the British Raj. But the export of raw timber from Burma is now illegal. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0502 Busy activity at the port in Pakokku. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0810 Chinese and Western tourists enjoy breakfast at a popular hotel on the riverside in Bagan. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • DSC_0882 State-run boat trips run daily from Mandalay to Mingun. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • rsz_dsc_0037 Hundreds of families live in unsanitary squatter camps along the Irrawaddy in Mandalay. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
    • rsz_dsc_0233 Two young monks chat as they enjoy the view from Mandalay Hill. (PHOTO: Colin Hinshelwood/DVB)
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    In 2011, a nationwide Save the Irrawaddy campaign convinced President Thein Sein to suspend construction of a 6,000-megawatt dam at the source of the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State.

    The immediate outcome is that this 2,170-kilometre river continues to flow uninterrupted; fish species, most notably the butterfish, and the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin now have a chance to breed and grow in numbers.

    The Irrawaddy (officially Ayeyarwady) River provides livelihood to nearly a million people in Burma, as it cascades down from the foothills of the Himalayas through Kachin State capital Myitkyina, Bhamo, Mandalay, Sagaing, Bagan, Pyay and the fertile Irrawaddy delta region, before finally emptying in the Andaman Sea.

    DVB takes a cruise along a short stretch of this magnificent waterway – from Mingun to Mandalay to Sagaing to Pakokku to Bagan – at the end of rainy season when the river is up to 16 metres deep and one kilometre in width.

    Related Stories

    • Scandal-hit Thai temple helps to stage mass Buddhist event in Mandalay
    • Burma pledges to relocate hotels from Bagan archaeological site
    • China says it will keep talking to Burma over stalled Myitsone dam

    Thein Sein’s presidency may well be drawing to a close, and activists and locals alike will be anxiously watching to see whether the new government upholds the principle of protecting the nation’s favourite river.

     

    From yesterday: Myitsone dam has cost us $800m, says China

    Tags: baganCPIirrawaddy rivermandalayMingunmyitkyinaMyitsonePakkoku

    • Previous story DKBA splinter group clash with Border Guard Force
    • Next story China derailed ceasefire, says Burmese mediator

      Related Stories

    • Scandal-hit Thai temple helps to stage mass Buddhist event in Mandalay
    • Burma pledges to relocate hotels from Bagan archaeological site
    • China says it will keep talking to Burma over stalled Myitsone dam
    • Locals oppose dam-building on Ngaw Chan Kha

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