Monsoon season damage to Angumaw-Maungdaw road brings travel headaches

By Admin 11 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
11 August 2023, Maungdaw

The Maungdaw-Angumaw road in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, has been damaged due to incessant rains, making it difficult for local residents and cargo trucks to travel between the two locations and beyond.

Heavy rains have caused damage along the Maungdaw-Angumaw road, and a road section between Kainggyi Village and Udaung Village is particularly badly damaged, residents said.

“I returned from Maungdaw after transporting commodities. I have been waiting for over an hour as the vehicles were trapped along the road. Drivers have had to help each other’s trucks,” said U Than Naing Oo, a truck driver.

A local driver from Maungdaw said that hundreds of vehicles use the Maungdaw-Angumaw road every day, and that damage to the road from heavy rain is common. He called on local authorities to repair the damaged road section as soon as possible.

“Some sections of the road are completely destroyed by heavy rains. The vehicles will be able to use the road only if the road is repaired,” said U Kyaw Naing, a local driver in Maungdaw.

The road connecting Maungdaw and the Angumaw Jetty in Rathedaung Township is particularly important for the border trade with Bangladesh and is the main road used by residents of Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Maungdaw wanting to travel to Sittwe.

The Maungdaw-Angumaw road is about 50 miles long, and the road section from Angumaw Village to Koetankauk Village was inaugurated by the Asia World Foundation in 2018.

DMG was unable to obtain comment from an official of the Maungdaw District’s Department of Bridge regarding the repair of the Angumaw-Maungdaw road section.