Broken bridge causes transport headaches for residents of Minbya Twsp villages 

By DMG 02 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
2 October 2021, Minbya 

A bridge used by people from 14 villages in Minbya Township, Arakan State, is broken, significantly disrupting the local transportation network. 

The bridge is on the way to Minbya town along the Yangon-Sittwe highway, and villagers are facing travel difficulties for their travel, said Ma Kyi Kyi Than, a vendor from Kadoe Seik, one of the villages that uses the bridge. 

“We have to depend on the waterway as the bridge is broken. Since the fuel oil price has risen, the ferry fee has also increased,” she said. 

“I want the government to repair the bridge to facilitate our transportation,” Ma Kyi Kyi Than added. 

The bridge was built about 10 years ago using money donated by a man from Wint Zar village-tract, which includes some of the 14 villages using the bridge, she said. 

Emergency patients from the affected villagers are at additional risk with the bridge impassable, because of the additional time it takes to reach Minbya town using alternate routes, said U Hla Kyaw Maung, administrator of Kadoe Seik village-tract. 

“We can use the motorway from the Wint Zar village-tract to reach the highway, but it is a long journey. If there are pregnant women who urgently need to deliver their baby or emergency patients, it is risky to take the long trip. The waterway also takes more time. If the bridge is not broken, we can reach the highway in a few minutes,” he explained. 

The broken bridge measures 20 feet long and 18 feet wide. Without it, villagers have to use a motorboat on the Thae Dan Creek to get to Minbya town, a journey of about two hours, U Hla Kyaw Maung said.