Fishing industry hampered by reports of fish feeding on corpses

United Nations observers who have visited the Irrawaddy delta say the fishing and farming sectors in what was once one of Asia's richest 'rice bowls' will probably take years to recover from the effects of Cyclone Nargis, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post. "The lack of a rapid government response to the cyclone crisis has only exacerbated the damage," said a UN World Food Programme official.

Thousands of bodies still litter the region where a responsible government would have undertaken recovery work weeks ago, the official said. The rotting corpses of humans and farm animals are polluting water supplies and poisoning the salt pans which are a major industry in the region, he said.

The fishing industry is also having massive problems recovering from the effects of the cyclone. Fishermen report that traders and exporters are reluctant to buy seafood from the delta after rumours swept Rangoon that fish were feeding on human bodies. "Reports that fingers and jewellery are being found in fish are destroying our business," said one Rangoon trader.

The UN office in Rangoon reported today that a major operation had been launched in the delta to assess the region's relief needs. More than 200 experts from the UN, the Burmese government and Burma’s partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations would undertake a village-by-village survey, penetrating the most remote areas of the delta, the UN said.

The operation is the first serious attempt by the military regime to tackle the crisis that hit the region when Cyclone Nargis swept in from the Bay of Bengal on May 2. A UN spokeswoman in Bangkok, Amanda Pitt, said she hoped it signalled a greater willingness by the Burmese government to work alongside aid workers.

Meanwhile, 18 destitute women and children who survived Burma's disastrous cyclone have been arrested on their way to the UN office in Rangoon to plead for assistance.

Sources said they were being interrogated today and were expected to be released after a warning and instructions to return to what remains of their homes in a Rangoon suburb flattened by the storm. They were told they could expect official aid, although hundreds of thousands of cyclone survivors are still waiting for the regime to make good its promise to help them.

FIRST POSTED JUNE 11, 2008