Temporary Shelters with Tarpaulin Roofs Banned at Hpung Ngai Yang IDP Camp, Causing Roofing Difficulties

Pajau Media

December 22, 2025

At Hpung Ngai Yang Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, displaced residents say they are facing urgent shortages of roofing materials as they attempt to build new shelters, while accommodation and other basic household items have also become increasingly difficult to obtain.

“Starting this year, aid providers are no longer distributing tarpaulins. So we can’t use metal sheets for roofing either. If we want to use forest thatch for roofs, we have to order them from the Putao side. We can’t go there ourselves, so we have to place orders through acquaintances and transport them by vehicles coming down to Myitkyina. Along the way, there are many military checkpoints, which makes everything extremely difficult,” said one male IDP.

Residents said they are worried that this year, shelter, roofing materials, and basic household necessities for the Hpung Ngai Yang IDP camp will become increasingly scarce due to various transportation challenges.

Following repeated airstrikes by the military junta, visible tarpaulin roofed shelters in the camp are being replaced with roofs made from forest thatch and similar materials, as part of efforts to reduce aerial visibility. This has further complicated the process of changing and rebuilding roofs, according to reports.

In addition, roofing materials are not available near the camp area, forcing IDPs to purchase them from Putao and Myitkyina. Transportation is made more difficult by poor road conditions and numerous security checkpoints, residents said.

More than 1,000 people are currently living in the Hpung Ngai Yang IDP camp, relying on shelters constructed with bamboo, woven bamboo walls, and tarpaulin roofs. Many displaced people, who have been living in displacement for over two years, still continue to flee intermittently into nearby forests, according to residents.

News: Mali Hku