Eight ancient cities in danger of destroying

Eight ancient cities in danger of destroying
Published 19 February 2019
Lwin Myo Thu

Eight ancient cities including Innwa and Amarapura, need urgent conservation and if there is no  conservation efforts placed on to these cities right now, they are in danger of being destroyed in a 10 years period according to Thura Aung, Secretary of Archeology and Research Association of Myanmar.

The eight ancient cities are Innwa and Amarapura, Myin Sai, and five other old cities in Mon State.

"In Amarapura, people are living on the old moats. In Mon State, most of the ancient places have no environmental protection such as plans to safeguard these cities during the rainy season. As a result, these walls and ancient buildings are in ruins. The Innwa and Amarapura are old urban cities. If there is no urgent conservation done to these ancient cities, these cities may be disappear within 5 or 10 years," said Thura Aung, Secretary of Archeology and Research Association of Myanmar.

These ancient cities face many challenges such as a dense population, and extension of modern cities. Myin Sai, another old city, also faced challenges from industrial pressure while ancient cities in Mon State are in risk of facing natural disasters.

"It is not easy to prevent various kinds of challenges faced by ancient cities. Extension of cities must find other ways and work towards preserving these cultural heritages. Ministry of Home Affairs and State and Regional government must cooperate for moving of people without affecting their socio-economic lives. he continued.

Innwa is an ancient royal capital of successive Myanmar Kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries. Amarapura was the capital of Myanmar twice during Kongbaung period from 1783-1821) and (1842-1859).