Fuel shortages weigh on funerals in several Arakan State towns

By Admin 22 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
22 December 2023, Sittwe

Fuel shortages have forced locals to walk to attend funerals in several towns in Arakan State including Sittwe, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya.

Bereaved families can’t afford to either hire vehicles for funeral parties or find vehicles to hire due to fuel shortages. Fuel is also short in supply to run crematoriums.

U Thar Tun Aye of the Free Funeral Service Association in Minbya town said: “Bereaved families find it difficult to hire vehicles. So, the funeral party can only walk.”

It has been more than one month since the regime blockaded roads and waterways in Arakan State, causing shortages of food, fuel, and other commodities and goods.

“People have to walk to the cemetery to attend funerals,” a Kyauktaw resident said. “So, sick and old relatives can’t attend the funeral. And people have no fuel to go to funerals by motorbike.”

Fuel currently sells for a whopping 25,000 kyats per litre in Arakan State, but even then it is extremely difficult to buy without personal connections, according to residents.

“Free” funeral service associations say they have been forced to charge at least 30,000 kyats and sometimes more for funerals due to fuel shortages and price hikes.

U Than Shwe, chairman of the Free Funeral Service Association in Sittwe, said: “We still have some stocks of fuel. However, we won’t be able to operate when it runs out. So, we have sought help from authorities.”

Around 1,300 people die annually in Sittwe town, according to the association.