Residents of 10 villages in Mrauk-U Twsp demand road fixes

By DMG 02 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
2 October 2021, Mrauk-U

A section of road connecting Tin Nyo San Pya and Shwe Kyin Pyin villages in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, is in need of immediate repair, residents say.

Residents of 10 villages who use the road are facing difficulty as the section, about 300 feet long, is badly damaged. Villagers needing to travel to Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw towns must use the road, and they are calling for it to be upgraded to concrete.

U Kyaw Hlaing, head of Shwe Kyin Pyin village, said the residents of about 10 villages have been struggling with transportation for months, affecting matters ranging from healthcare and social affairs to local economic activity.

“The road has been damaged since summer. There are potholes and broken areas,” he said.

A motorist said travel is delayed because of the broken section of road.

“We have to carry elderly people when the vehicle stops at damaged parts. As the vehicle cannot be driven along the road and has to be pushed at the damaged parts, it takes more time to reach a destination,” he said.

“I’m preparing to submit a request to repair the road section to relevant authorities. If the road section is not fixed, other parts of the road section will be damaged later,” said U Kyaw Kyaw, head of Taung Myint village.

The roadway was laid as a gravel road in 2016. A plan to upgrade the road to concrete was submitted to the government in April 2019, but it has not yet been implemented due to a lack of budget allocation.