In a letter to the Chin state Chief Minister on 19 March 2014, local people in southern Chin state have demanded removal of a pagoda from a public place in Simi village.
The pagoda was built in block II of Simi village, which is reserved for public residences. It was constructed by U Ki Kui Sei, Simi sub-township general administrator during December 2013.
Despite the villagers having submitted a letter to Chin state Chief Minister, U Hung Ngai requesting removal of the pagoda on 10 January with signatures of 132 persons, there was no response from the CM’s office. A second letter was submitted recently.
The letter states that ‘It’s not a fight over religious matters. We accept that pagodas are a kind of decoration for the town, but the location is the centre for people’s residences. So it should be shifted to a location identified by department officials in 2004-2005. We’ll not take any responsibility if problems emerge because of non removal of the pagoda by the authorities.’
A local said that the pagoda was constructed by U Ki Kui Sei without consulting the local people. “We have discussed with U Han Win Aung, Simi sub-town administrator and Paletwa town general administrator, to shift the pagoda, and identified five other locations for its reconstruction,” he added.