By Hlaing / MPA(Article)
As the hum of the generator filled the air, lights flickered to life in every home across the village. It was exactly 6 p.m.
“Bring down everything that needs charging! Flashlights too!”
The once-quiet village quickly burst into activity. Some residents turned on their televisions, while others scrambled to charge their phones and other devices.
“Electricity is only available from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Everyone rushes to charge everything they can during this window,” explained Ko Zaw, a leader of the People’s Defense Team in a village in Magway Region’s Saw Township.
“When I was young, we didn’t have electricity at all. Only wealthier families could afford solar panels or generators. When power poles were installed before the coup, we were ecstatic. We even started saving for electric rice cookers and refrigerators,” he said, pausing. “But now, those appliances are just collecting dust.”
Despite the installation of power poles during the previous government’s tenure, the village, home to more than 100 households, still relies on a communal generator for electricity.
“The poles were set up when the NLD government was in power,” Ko Zaw added. “Everything was ready for electricity. But the coup shattered our hopes.”
Just five miles away, a neighboring village enjoys uninterrupted 24-hour electricity.
“We were lucky,” said Ko Thet, a resident of Saw Township. “Being closer to town made all the difference. But other villages have no electricity at all.”
Residents across Magway Region—spanning areas like Kyaw, Saw, Kyaukhtu, Tilin, and Gangaw—lament the halt of developmental projects since the coup.
“If the coup hadn’t happened, we’d have seen real progress by now, especially in terms of electricity,” Ko Thet noted. “But the coup halted everything, and we’ve been left behind.”
At sunrise, young villagers gather at the edge of the village, their phones in hand.
“This is the only spot with a phone signal,” explained Ko Shin Lat, a resident of Kyaw Township. “We’re stuck with 3G internet here, so everyone comes to this spot to stay connected.”
Before the coup, telecommunications providers like MPT and Ooredoo had brought phone lines and 4G internet to the region. But in the aftermath, the military junta severed those services.
In some parts of central Myanmar’s dry zone, residents have turned to Starlink for internet access. However, coverage is limited.
“In our village tract in Kyaw, there’s just one Starlink device,” said an officer from Resistance Battalion 19 in Gangaw District. “It’s shared among multiple villages, with each getting it for three days at a time.”
Since the military coup, central Myanmar’s Sagaing and Magway Regions have become conflict zones. Military raids and airstrikes have displaced countless villagers, leaving many communities abandoned.
“Our village used to be lively,” recalled a woman from Aung Village, located along the Tilin-Pakokku highway. “But after the military began using the road as a supply route, we had no choice but to flee.”
The coup has reversed years of development in these regions, leading to severe economic, educational, and healthcare setbacks. Entire communities of displaced people now face the challenges of survival, grappling with food shortages and inadequate shelter.
“All we want is to live in our own homes, on our own land,” said a woman from Yaw. “But now, we’re just trying to survive. It feels like we’ve gone back in time, to our parents’ generation. We don’t want to take any more steps backward.”