The Myanmar junta began celebrations of Thingyan under tight security on 13 April, while the resistance forces are urging people to keep away from the entertainment pandals or stages set up for the water festival.

“In People’s Park in Yangon, soldiers and police inspect people before entering the entertainment area. Near the Yangon City Hall in downtown Yangon, security forces put up barrier gates for inspection,” a resident in Yangon said.

The Mandalay mayor’s pandal was opened on 13 April morning, with the deployment of security in nearby areas.

A member of the civil service staff said on condition of anonymity that only government employees and the dancing troupe attended the opening ceremony.

A staff member of the city development committee said: “Dancing troupes are the students only from the families of Mandalay City Development Committee this year, although many students enjoyed the ceremony before the coup.”

An owner of a cosmetic shop in Zegyo Market in Mandalay said, “They asked young women from the shops to attend the entertainment at the MCDC main pandal. The regime collected K100,000 to K300,000 from the shops staff who did not join their pandal.”

In the capital Naypyidaw, only a few young people and children splashed water on the roads and in the wards.

Security was very tight at the ‘Walking Thingyan’ celebrations organized by the ministries and the Brilliant Aura Company on Pyinmana-Taungnyo road.

The military arranged transportation for civil service staff to enjoy the water festival at Naypyidaw Mayor Pandal and ‘Walking Thingyan’, said a source in Naypyidaw.