Local residents have raised concerns that the old jade mining lake between Hmaw Wun Lay and Hmaw Wun Gyi villages in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, could burst as mining companies continue to dump waste soil into the large lake daily and water leaks out.
A resident of Hpakant said he is concerned that the lake could burst and cause major casualties as some mining companies continue to dump waste into the lake, which spans nearly 300 acres, causing the water level, which is more than 300 feet deep, to rise by one foot daily.
“The jade mining companies are shoveling the soil with excavators and dumping it into the lake. So the water level rises a foot and a half to two feet a day. If the lake’s water level continues to rise, it could burst. This could result in the death of the jade scavengers. Locals are also concerned that downtown residents could be affected,” he said.
In addition, the presence of backhoes excavators and gold panning rafts in the lower part of the lake has led to a gradual leakage of water, so that the water level is now only about ten feet from the shore, residents said.
Jade mining companies dump their waste directly into the water instead of systematically disposing of it. This has resulted in the water level increasing day by day, which is a worrying situation, especially during the rainy season, residents said.
Locals have called on authorities to take swift action to prevent the lake from bursting , but there are currently no options for filing complaints in Hpakant given the unrest there.
“We locals want the authorities to control the areas and take action. We also want companies to stop dumping water into the lake. If the lake is unfortunately bursts, undesirable things will surely happen. So we want preventive measures before that happens. That is the wish of the residents here,” he said.
With more than ten excavators working around the lake every day for jade mining, an bursting of the lake via two waterways could affect areas such as the downtown quarter of Ayetharyar and the Hmaw Wun area, warned another Hpakant resident.
“If the lake bursts, we are particularly worried about Ayetharyar and parts of Hmaw Wun. The water could reach there through two channels. Because there are about ten backhoes there. At some construction sites, there are three or more backhoes, and some companies dump their waste into the lake with the backhoes,” he said.
According to locals, the jade mining site was systematically operated by a jade mining company during the previous National League for Democracy (NLD) government in 2018 to prevent water bursting.
In light of these conditions, locals have called on the military council and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which are currently in control of the region, to work with local community leaders to urgently intervene and take action.
On 13 August, more than 42 jade scavengers were killed when a 500-foot-high soil dump in a jade mining site in Mana Hmaw village collapsed.
Sent by KNG.