Give back our alabaster mining sites: residents
Sakyin area residents in Madaya township, Mandalay Region, have urged the government to award more locals, and not companies, with permits for alabaster production. This would create more job opportunities for locals in the district, they said. Resident U Aung Htoo said the mining sites were originally mined by the locals, and with the permits granted to companies for years, locals were deprived of work. He said now was the time to do it since the permits for some companies were expiring. Locals are claiming that five companies out of the ten that are mining alabaster in Sakyin’s nine mountains, which include Kamma Taung, Sakyin Taung, Yathe Taung, Ngawet Taung, Kyaung Taung, and Hnaw Taung, have expired permits.
