Locals call for repairs to rural road connecting several villages in Ponnagyun Twsp

By DMG 26 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
26 December 2022, Ponnagyun

Locals in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township are calling for repairs to a gravel road connecting several villages including Hnetgyikyun, Padetha, Tankhoe, Aungdula, Nyaungpinwaing, Ai Tin and Kywlhtoe.

“We cannot use the road in the rainy season because there is water all over the road and you can’t see the road,” said Ko Aung Aung Than, a three-wheeled motorbike driver from Hnetgyikyun Village. “This road has been damaged for about four years. Pregnant women and people in poor health are not comfortable traveling on this road.”

When the road was built, retaining walls along the road were not reinforced, leading to erosion and other deterioration.

High school students in some villages are also facing difficulties because they have to travel to Kywlhtoe Village, which has a high school, according to the students’ parents.

“As the road was damaged, students had to travel in advance to reach school on time. If they come to school late, students do not have regular time to study,” said U Saw Maung Thein, parent of a student in Hnetgyikyun Village.

Residents of the affected villages are facing social, economic and health-related difficulties, and they are demanding action from the government.

When DMG asked a relevant Construction Ministry official about the condition of the road and whether there are any plans to repair it, he replied that there is no funding for the repair work this year, and that a budget to do so has been requested for the fiscal year 2023-2024.