Roads damaged by heavy rain in Rathedaung 

By Admin 14 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
14 August 2023, Rathedaung

Some road sections in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township were badly damaged by heavy rain, according to locals and drivers who have called on authorities to repair the affected roads as soon as possible.

The road through the Mayu mountains linking Zedi Pyin and Inn Din villages in the west of the township, the Agnumaw-Zedi Pyin-Buthidaung road east of the Mayu mountains, and the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road section in the east of Rathedaung were damaged by heavy rains.

The Zedi Pyin-Kyauk Panu road was also badly damaged by pouring rain, posing a danger to road users, according to social activist Ko Aung Min Soe from Zedi Pyin Village.

“It is quite dangerous driving up and down the mountain. There is a risk of landslides,” he said.

The Zedi Pyin-Inn Din-Kyauk Panu road is more than 10 miles long, and links up with the Agnumaw-Maungdaw road.

The road is mostly gravel, with a concrete stretch of less than three miles from Zedi Pyin Village to the foot of the Mayu mountains.

The road through the Mayu mountains is crucial for travel to Sittwe for residents from more than 50 villages including Zedi Pyin. It is also a key road for these villagers’ access to Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.

The Agnumaw-Zedi Pyin-Buthidaung road in the east of the Mayu mountains was also damaged by heavy rains.

“The road is very bumpy, and terribly inconvenient,” said U Kyaw Than, secretary of the Rathedaung Region Development Association. “In some places, the road is low, and bridges are high, which causes damage to vehicles. So last month, in cooperation with drivers who use this road, we spent money out of our own pockets to fill the holes with gravel.”

The Agnumaw-Zedi Pyin road section of the Agnumaw-Zedi Pyin-Buthidaung road is 27 miles long, and is the key road for local residents from some 40 villages in the Mayu region.

The Agnumaw-Zedi Pyin road was previously built by the Border Affairs Ministry, and has now been handed over to the rural road construction department under the Construction Ministry.

A road section near Tun Yawai and Kyeinthar villages in Rathedaung Township, on the 22-mile-long road linking Ponnagyun and Rathedaung, is also in bad condition.

Rathedaung Township administrator U Naing Lin Htet said he has reported to concerned road construction groups about the damages to widely used roads in Rathedaung.

“It has been raining continuously, and it is difficult for machinery to travel on mountain roads to repair the Zedi Pyin-Kyauk Panu road. Repairs have already started on the Rathedaung-Ponnagyun road,” said U Naing Lin Htet.