When Khin Gyi first heard that one of Myanmar's notorious business tycoons had plans to forcibly strip her of her peanut farm, she was stunned. Years of work and thousands of dollars she invested into her land was about to vanish into dust.
Over the last few months, Khin Gyi and many farmers in southern Mandalay’s Amarapura Township have been facing the prospect of having their land purchased for pennies on the dollar, or entirely seized. It’s all part of a new development project that her community claims could devastate their livelihoods.
“They're filling sand on the land plots day and night,” she said, using a pseudonym out of fear of reprisals.The project, which has a 10-year construction period, will cover 2,500 acres of land between Amarapura Township’s Mandalay Ring Road's east and west sides, and areas around the Ayeyarwady. . .
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