Save Shwedagon sights

YANGON  Experts have called on the government to save Shwedagon Pagoda and its surroundings from over development that threatens the structural integrity of the iconic Buddhist temple.
Irrawaddy Media quoted the Association of Myanmar Architects that released a statement claiming the pagoda was in urgent need of protection.
The association vice president, Maw Lin, said the pagoda’s religious and historical significance meant that the government needed to exercise caution in granting permissions for construction in the area.
“The government should conduct a study across Yangon to determine where development is possible and to zone off areas that could suffer damage.”
inside no 1AMA sent a letter to President Thein Sein, ministers and relevant ministries in the Union and divisional governments, calling for the urgent adoption of a conservation plan for “Shwedagon and its environs.”
“The most important points in the letter is the need for a risk assessment on the pagoda.”
Yangon Technological University civil professor, Dr Nyan Myint Kyaw, said even though Shwedagon had received structural strengthening in recent years, a comprehensive survey on the site’s foundation and underground water had yet to follow.
“What we can say right now is only guesswork,” he said.
Architect Khaing Win Lat suggested the area around Shwedagon Pagoda should be retained as a green area with public access for cultural, educational and recreational purposes.
Experts talked about visual pollution, the kind that blocks out views of the pagoda. This is already taking place on a massive scale as commercial development speeds up to provide the city with more offices and residential high-rise buildings.
Yangon Heritage Trust chairman, Thant Myint-U, said Shwedagon must be the centrepiece of any plan for a 21st century Yangon, together with its waterfronts and heritage architecture.
“There is more than enough real estate space for the kind of growth and modernisation we all want in Ya. The conflict is with unplanned growth which will ultimately ruin Yangon’s heritage assets.”
Shwedagon Pagoda is the most popular and well-known pagoda in Yangon. The pagoda is one of the main tourist attractions and one of the city’s advantages has always been breathtaking skyline visuals the city presented for tourists.
The pagoda received more than 500,000 foreign visitors in 2014 up 60,000 to the on visits in 2013.

sourced:ttrweekly.com