Squatters near Sittwe Twsp railway to be removed: Arakan State minister

By DMG 24 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
24 February 2022, Sittwe 

Squatters living near the Sittwe-Pyitawthar-Yaychanpyin rail route, which is undergoing repairs ahead of a planned resumption of train services, will be removed from the area, the Arakan State military government’s transportation minister told DMG, describing the targeted population’s dwellings as illegally built. 

“There are many people who sell government-owned lands without a document. The people are squatting there, so we have to remove them from there. However, I do not know when they will be evicted,” said the minister, Police Colonel Thet Lwin. 

“Anyone is allowed to live within 75 feet of the railway track on each side,” said a railway employee who asked for anonymity. “However, many people are squatting near Sittwe Railway Station. Since trains have not been running, the number of squatters there is increasing.” 

U Kyaw Thein, who lives near Sittwe Railway Station and could soon be forcibly evicted, said hundreds of people like himself had nowhere else to go. 

“We fled from our home in Rathedaung due to clashes. It is not convenient to stay at an IDP [internally displaced person] camp, and we built a house here with all the money we have,” he said. 

The Sittwe-Kyauktaw railway is divided into two sections; Pyitawthar-Yaychanpyin, which is nearly 11.5 miles long, and Kantaung-Kyauktaw, which is about 42.6 miles long, according to government figures. There are four railway stations between Pyitawthar and Yaychanpyin. 

The Pyitawthar-Yaychanpyin rail route began operating in 2009, but services were suspended on April 10, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.