LASHIO: The emergency ward of the 500-bed Lashio General Hospital reopened at around 9 am on May 2, and efforts are underway to reopen the hospital within a week.
At around 1 pm on May 2, the Presiding Sayadaw of the Sri Mingalar Mansu Shan Monastery, Dr. Baddanta Punyananda, returned to Lashio and preached the Dhamma to the local people.
“The situation at the 500-bed Lashio General Hospital is such that when the MNDAA withdrew from Lashio, all the medical equipment, including generators, were taken away," an official said. "What is now being opened today is the emergency outpatient ward. We need to put everything back in order to make it look like a hospital. The hospital is currently being cleaned with the help of the army, police, and the municipality, as well as nearly 100 personnel. The relevant authorities are working very hard to ensure that the hospital is fully operational within three days or in a week."
Since the MNDAA left, all government offices and public buildings including offices, schools, hospitals and departmental buildings have been left empty.
As the MNDAA took away all the equipment and machinery of all government departments, efforts are being made to rebuild Lashio.
“Our municipal development department’s garbage collection truck was left with nothing, just a shell, but now that the MNDAA has left, Lashio is a ruined city. We have about 50 staff members who have rented three vehicles for the department and are working to make the city clean and beautiful,” said an official from the Lashio City Development Committee.
It is understood that all MNDAA troops have left Lashio, and the armed forces and police are taking over the Lashio administration. Efforts are being made to reopen some departmental offices in Lashio, and the displaced personnel who were originally working in Lashio are being recalled.
In addition, preparations are being made to reopen schools during the academic season. - Eleven Media/ANN
