Paletwa residents concerned about shortages amid travel restrictions

By DMG 14 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
14 August 2021, Paletwa 

Residents of Paletwa Township, Chin State, said they are worried about shortages of food and medicines because the motorways and waterways from Paletwa to other townships are closed. 

Paletwa transportation options have been limited for about five months and residents are facing difficulties with healthcare access, said Ko Tin Tun Aung, a resident of Paletwa Township. 

“Residents are banned from travelling outside Paletwa Township by both motorway and waterway. So, people are facing difficulties with livelihoods and access to healthcare,” he told DMG. “Even if an emergency patient requires medical treatment in another township, for example in Kyauktaw or Sittwe, authorities do not allow to go outside Paletwa Township.” 

The restrictions have extended to commerce, with residents unable to trade and shops running out of goods to sell, said U Saw Hla, a shopkeeper in Paletwa town.   

“We cannot travel outside the township. As the demand is lower, the price has increased. Prices of medicines are also soaring. There will be difficulties if there is a medicine shortage amid the Covid-19 outbreak,” he said. 

U Aung Aung, a resident of Paletwa, said he was worried about shortages of food and medicines in Paletwa Township. 

“Shopkeepers cannot go to Kyauktaw to buy goods for their shops. Currently, the price of medicines is increasing. I am worried that there will be a medicine shortage amid the spread of Covid-19,” he said. 

The Chin State Administration Council has imposed a travel ban, residents said. DMG phoned the Paletwa Township administrator regarding the travel dynamics in the township, but he could not be reached. 

Paletwa Township residents have long relied on Kyauktaw town in neighbouring Arakan State to supply consumer goods and foodstuffs.