Paletwa stay-at-home order brings livelihood woes for locals 

By DMG 08 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
8 September 2021, Paletwa 

Local people in Paletwa Township, Chin State, are facing various difficulties as they are being restricted from leaving their homes after 11 a.m. due to rising Covid-19 infections. 

Paletwa residents are not allowed to leave their homes outside a designated window of time from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m., leaving basic workers such as day labourers, ferryboat captains and three-wheeled motorcycle drivers out of work, according to locals. 

“Basic workers became unemployed as they were prohibited from leaving their homes after 11 a.m. The grassroots are struggling to make ends meet because they are unemployed amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” said U Tin Oo, a resident of Paletwa. 

“Commodity prices have also risen. It costs about K3,000 to eat a single dish. Unemployed people cannot even eat a regular meal,” he added. 

Paletwa residents must obtain a letter of recommendation from relevant local authorities if they want to leave home after 11 a.m., and are subject to a fine if they do not follow the rules. 

U Maung Maung, a three-wheeled motorcycle driver from Paletwa, said he used to earn more than K10,000 a day, but now makes less than half that due to the stay-at-home restrictions. 

“There is a big difference. Even if we drive a three-wheeled motorbike, we do not have the same income as before. To obey the rules, we do not go outside. Therefore, it is more difficult for the grassroots like us,” he added. 

Locals in Paletwa mainly transport rice and other basic goods from Kyauktaw, and commodity prices are higher than usual due to the lack of easy access to goods. 

A bag of paw san hmwe, also known as “Myanmar pearl rice,” previously cost K40,000, but now the price has risen to K45,000, and a bag of raw rice has risen from about K25,000 to K30,000. 

Internally displaced people (IDPs) from an IDP camp set up within a local church compound and another displacement camp located on the township football grounds are facing livelihood and financial difficulties after the two camps were locked down on August 27. 

“People are not allowed to go out after 11 a.m. We have a problem because the movement of the displaced people is restricted in the IDP camps. We have only rice and no money to buy anything else,” said one IDP.

Paletwa residents have also faced travel restrictions on the Kyauktaw-Paletwa waterway, a major transportation linkage between the two townships. 

Local authorities including police are conducting surprise checks in downtown Paletwa wards and at the entry and exit to the town to determine whether residents are complying with the virus-related regulations.