Meiktila

Meiktila, town, central Myanmar (Burma), on Meiktila Lake. A major road and rail centre on the Thazi-Myingyan railway, the town also has an airfield. It is a Buddhist centre, the site of a teacher-training college and a diesel electric plant, and a centre for wood and bamboo products and for textile manufacturing. Meiktila Lake is an ancient irrigation reservoir, which legend says was begun by the grandfather of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. It covers an area of 3.5 square miles (9 square km) and, with connected lakes, irrigates a large region and supplies drinking water.

The surrounding area is primarily a dry, undulating plain with stretches of dark cotton soil, part of Myanmar’s Dry Zone. To the east, a strip of the wetter, forested Shan Plateau holds catechu and teak reserves. Rice land is irrigated by streams from the eastern plateau by a government irrigation project. Sesame, cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), peas, corn (maize), and millet are also grown. The area has limestone and lead, silver, zinc, and antimony deposits. Pop. (1993 est.) 129,674.