Residents near Rakhine State’s capital are furious after a road-blocking gate erected last month has made it difficult to commute and stands in the way of children getting to school.
The gate was allegedly put up on a public access road in Thin Ga Net Village in Sittwe township. Locals blamed the Tatmadaw’s 868th Military Police Battalion for installing the metal gate.
“We have been using this road for many generations. As you can see in the photo, the road has been blocked with a metal gate. They started blocking the road since June 24. We heard that it was closed under the order of Hein Zan Myint, commander of the 868th Military Police Battalion,” said a resident of the village.
“They did this because they were unsatisfied after they had to return seized farmlands to the villagers. This road is not concerned with the military police battalion. There are only a few houses belonging to the military police battalion along this road,” the resident added.
When the residents complained to the Sittwe-based Regional Operations Command, they were told that the issue would be solved.
“I want to request Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pyu and the Tatmadaw leaders to come and inspect the situation. I want them to come and see whether it is appropriate to block a public road with a metal gate,” said a community elder from the village.
Thin Ga Net Village is home to between 300 and 400 households. With the gate was erected, the residents say they have to take a circuitous route through a golf course in order to reach Sittwe town.
Narinjara News was unable to reach the office of the Regional Operations Command in Sittwe.
