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Singapore donates boats for Myanmar cyclone-hit fishermen

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-06 13:53

YANGON -- The Singapore government and the country's wellwishers have donated 200 fishing boats and 200 fishing nets to survived fishermen in two cyclone-hit areas in Myanmar's southwestern Ayeyawaddy delta to reinforce their fishery undertakings after storm, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

The donation was handed through the Mingalar Myanmar Company to the local fishermen in nine villages in Phyapon township and eight villages in Dedaye township in the delta region, the report said.

According to earlier local report, a total of 9,500 fishing boats, spoiled in the May storm, have been rebuilt for fishermen to revive their fishery undertakings.

Expert builders from five states and divisions of Mon, Kayin, Tanintharyi, Bago and Ayeyawaddy were invited for the move, the State Fishery Department was quoted as saying.

These newly-built fishing boats have been reportedly distributed to cyclone-hit areas such as Laputta, Ngaputaw, Mawlamyinegyun, Phyapon, Bogalay, Dedaye in Ayeyawaddy delta and some storm-hit areas in Yangon division.

Survived fisherman were set to repay the cost of rebuilding boats within four years in installments, then report added.

Meanwhile, a United-Kingdom-based international non- governmental organization (INGO), Action Aid, is also helping Myanmar revitalize its cyclone-devastated fishery sector and the first of its project, which is worth 200,000 U.S. dollars, is underway, earlier local reports also said.

Under an agreement signed in August this year between the INGO and the Myanmar Fisheries Federation, the prior is to provide a total of 10 million dollars for the recovery of the fishery sector in the Hainggyi Kyun in Ayeyawaddy division for a period of four years.

An additional 2 million dollars in aid for the fishery sector is also being sought from another INGO, Oxfam, then report added.

Deadly tropical cyclone Nargis hit five divisions and states - Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on last May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructural damage.

The storm has killed 84,537 people, leaving 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured according to official death toll.