where two-thirds of residents have left the village fearing the threat of further erosion. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Two villagers from Ka Thit Khone gaze out toward the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Ka Thit Khone villagers stand on the partially eroded land of their village as the river’s damaging waters flow past. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Part of Ka Thit Khone village can be seen having been eroded by the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Part of Ka Thit Khone village can be seen having been eroded by the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|A bridge on the way to farmlands surrounding Ka Thit Khone village that no longer exist. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|A wooden boat is moored where once was farmland. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|A villager collects drinking water from a pond at Ka Thit Khone village. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|With few other options left for livelihoods
many Ka Thit Khone villagers make a living by cutting down trees from their village to sell as firewood. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
Children of Ka Thit Khone village at their new relocation site after leaving their village fearing the threat of further erosion. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
Many of the trees surrounding Ka Thit Khone village have been cut down to sell as firewood because there are few other means to make a living at their relocation site. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
A deserted hut in Ka Thit Khone village, where two-thirds of residents have left the village fearing the threat of further erosion. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
Two villagers from Ka Thit Khone gaze out toward the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
Ka Thit Khone villagers stand on the partially eroded land of their village as the river’s damaging waters flow past. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
A Ka Thit Khone villager stands on the partially eroded bank of the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Children of Ka Thit Khone village at their new relocation site after leaving their village fearing the threat of further erosion. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|A Ka Thit Khone villager looks out from a makeshift hut. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Children of Ka Thit Khone village at their new relocation site after leaving their village fearing the threat of further erosion. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|Many of the trees surrounding Ka Thit Khone village have been cut down to sell as firewood because there are few other means to make a living at their relocation site. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)|A deserted hut in Ka Thit Khone village
Part of Ka Thit Khone village can be seen having been eroded by the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
Part of Ka Thit Khone village can be seen having been eroded by the Sittaung River. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
A bridge on the way to farmlands surrounding Ka Thit Khone village that no longer exist. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
A wooden boat is moored where once was farmland. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
A villager collects drinking water from a pond at Ka Thit Khone village. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
With few other options left for livelihoods, many Ka Thit Khone villagers make a living by cutting down trees from their village to sell as firewood. (Photo: Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy)
KA THIT KHONE VILLAGE, Pegu Division — Once a thriving farming village, Ka Thit Khone today barely resembles its former self—nearly all the agricultural lands that once surrounded its 300 households have disappeared, victim to unrelenting erosion caused by a nearby river.
Situated on the banks of the Sittaung River, the village in Pegu Division has come to know land erosion as an unwelcome annual visitor. Since the rainy season last year, four nearby villages have been reclaimed by the river. The erosion is so severe that recently about two-thirds of Ka Thit Khone residents decided to leave the village out of fear that their homes would be the next casualties.
Authorities have temporarily relocated nearly 200 displaced households to the middle of a field not far away from the river. When The Irrawaddy visited the area last week, the villagers were stranded in rickety makeshift huts, complaining that the land on which they are now staying is unfit for farming.
“We are not asking for compensation from the government. But we want safety. Take us away from the river to someplace where we could make a proper living,” one villager said.
