Locals face travel trouble after explosion damages suspension bridge in Kayah State

By Admin 21 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 March 2023, Bawlakhe, Kayah State

Local people in Bawlakhe Township, Kayah (Karenni) State, are facing travel trouble after a suspension bridge on the Bawlakhe-Hpasawng road near Yay Ni Pauk Village was damaged by an explosion.

The bridge was rocked by the explosion at about 9 a.m. on March 17 and as a result of the blast, the bridge’s steel suspension cables were completely destroyed, said a resident of Yay Ni Pauk Village.

“As the bridge is located on the Bawlakhe-Hpasawng road, locals in Bawlakhe Township are facing travel difficulties,” the villager added.

The bridge, measuring 524 feet in length and 7 feet in width over the Pun Creek, was built in 2013 by the quasi-civilian government led by former President U Thein Sein.

Officials from the Bawlakhe District Department of Bridge are currently trying to repair the damaged bridge, but it will take at least one week, said a local resident.

“Locals are currently unable to go to Hpasawng and it is expected to take at least a week to repair the damaged bridge,” the resident added.

Truck drivers in Bawlakhe said that operations of local cargo trucks and passenger buses were temporarily suspended, disrupting the flow of goods in the area.

“Passenger buses and cargo trucks running a route from Bawlakhe to Hpasawng temporarily suspended operations. All cargo trucks and passenger buses are trapped in Bawlakhe,” said one cargo truck driver.

The junta-controlled Myanmar Police Force in a statement on March 19 accused local resistance fighters of blowing up the bridge. DMG attempted to contact the local anti-regime forces about the matter, but to no avail.

There have been frequent clashes between the military and anti-regime forces in the area this month, since the regime imposed martial law in parts of the region in February.