Pakokku

Pakokku, town, central Myanmar (Burma), on the Irrawaddy River below its junction with the Chindwin. A trading centre for the Chindwin and Yaw river valleys, the town deals in timber and palm sugar and is the head of downstream Chindwin navigation. It has an airfield and a diesel-electric plant. The model village of Kyauksauk is immediately northwest. The area east of Pakokku is characteristic of Myanmar’s dry zone, with undulating gravelly and sandy land. The Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers provide alluvium and are utilized for irrigation. To the west, over the Shinmataung and Tangyi ridges, the region is drained by the Yaw and Myittha rivers. Peanuts (groundnuts), millet, and sesame are the principal crops. In the riverine areas sugar is produced from the toddy palm. Rice, gram, peas, beans, tobacco, and corn (maize) are also grown, the latter primarily for its husk, which is used for cheroot wrappers under the name of yawpet. The western forests yield teak. In the Yaw River valley, cutch, a yellow dye, is extracted from a type of small acacia tree. The Yenangyat oil field is to the south of the town. Nearby riverine towns include Gangaw and Tilin on the Myittha and Pauk and Seikpyu on the Yaw. The inhabitants are mainly Burman. Pop. (1993 est.) 94,783.