Future Uncertain For Mandats, Some More Than Others
UPDATE April 4th: A little more than half of the major Thingyan mandats will be open for next week’s festival. Some were unaffected by the new rule, some have been forced to move locations, others are concerning canceling their event. The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has barred all mandats from being built on or adjacent to Kandawgyi Lake, Inya Lake or Kabar Aye Road. Several of these affected stages will be moving Pyay Road, the only street where large private mandats are allowed. Public mandats in front of city hall, chinatown and other downtown locations will be operating as scheduled.
YCDC technically outlawed all commercial mandats which is defined broadly as any stage that imposes an admission fee. Officials have stated concern of the substance abuse and environmental degradation at these massive organized events. Fortunately for ticket holders, people can still join many mandats by purchasing ‘memberships’ which are permissible under the YCDC regulation.
Some mandats, like God’s Theatre, previously booked on Kabar Aye and Kandawgyi have confirmed their move to Pyay Road, others are not sure what they will do. Stage organizers should be contacted to figure out their plans for Thingyan.
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April 1st: 7 Day Daily and News Eleven have reported that the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) will be imposing significant restrictions on commercial Thingyan stages, known as mandats, for the upcoming festival. Commercial mandats are any citizen-run stage that charges money for entry. An official announcement will come tomorrow which will decide which elevated platform can begin construction and which can not.
There have been conflicting reports as to which mandats are in danger of being shut down before they can open and why this issue has arisen a week before the holiday. The YCDC has eluded that the more than 100 proposed commercial mandats, up from 34 last year, are havens for substance abuse and damage Yangon lakes and roads.. The organizers deny that they harbor illicit activity and will work to ensure that every stage can remain open, even if it requires moving locations. Mandats near Inya Lake and Kandawgyi Lakes seem to be the ones in question, whereas the structures on Pyay Road have been rumored to be in compliance with the possible new regulations.
Many of these mandats were profiled the latest Weekly Guide and MYANMORE will continue to provide up-to-date news on Thingyan events. Ticket sellers and mandats organizers on problematic sites have told MYANMORE that sales will be suspended until the official announcement.
