The number of KTV lounges has steadily increased in Putao Town, Kachin State, since the coup, locals said.

Until the 2021 coup, there was only one KTV lounge in Putao Town, but five years later the number has grown to six KTV lounges and one bar.

“There used to be just one KTV lounge in the town, in Ma Kyawt Wah Ward, but in recent years five more have opened, along with a bar. The noise from the KTVs is so loud at night that locals say they struggle to sleep, as these places usually stay open until 2:00 or 3:00 am every day,” a town resident told KNG.

Before the coup, there was only one KTV lounge, Bamboo KTV, in Ma Kyawt Wah Ward, a suburb of Putao. After the coup, four more opened across three other wards, along with another in Ma Kyawt Wah Ward. A bar also opened in Dut Htan Ward.

In the past, religious and cultural organizations tried to block bars and KTV lounges from opening in Putao, but now these businesses are opening without regard for those groups, a ward administrator said.

“We don’t know which authorities they’re negotiating with to open these businesses. Before, the town elders wouldn’t allow them, so there wasn’t even a single bar in Putao. Now, nobody seems to care about those objections, and there’s even a bar in town,” he told KNG.

While the KTV lounge in Ma Kyawt Wah Ward is away from residential areas, the three in Dut Htan and Jubilee wards are right between homes, creating significant noise and disturbing the neighbors.

According to locals, only the Bamboo KTV in Putao is licensed, while the others are operating illegally.

The rise of KTVs and bars in a remote area like Putao, where jobs are scarce, has raised concerns among locals about the morals of young people. Some of the town’s youth are now working in these businesses.

New KTV lounges have opened in 2024 and 2025.

Since the coup, the number of KTV lounges and bars has also risen sharply in Myitkyina, Danai, Hpakant, Monghnyin, and other townships in Kachin State.