Local residents have criticised municipal authorities and traffic police for failing to handle irresponsible parking by auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and other vehicles on the roads near Sittwe’s central market. The lack of regulation has frequently caused traffic chaos, these residents say.

“The road is always packed with auto-rickshaws that are moving or parked irresponsibly,” said Sittwe resident Daw Khin Than Wai.

“I live close to the market, and I have found that sometimes it is faster to walk to the market than taking an auto-rickshaw. And there have been frequent road rage fights between auto-rickshaw drivers.”

Municipal authorities and traffic police must dedicate more time to enforcement of traffic regulations near the market, say residents who have called on authorities to take harsher action against violators.

“Authorities and traffic police must enforce rules constantly for a certain period, to make sure people get used to the regulations,” said Daw Khin Than Wai. “But what was happening was authorities only took disciplinary actions for a few weeks, and then they didn’t show up for months.”

It is important to maintain order as Sittwe is the administrative capital of Arakan State, said resident U Maung Thar Sein. The Arakan State Administration Council held a meeting with the relevant departments and discussed ways to solve the problem of illegal parking, he added.

“In Yangon, there are paid parking lots. But there is no such system in Sittwe,” said U Aung Kyaw Win, a retired deputy director of Sittwe Township. “This is one of the factors contributing to inconsiderate parking. In Yangon municipality, there are municipal police. But there are no municipal police here, and regulations can’t be enforced effectively. So, there is a need to appoint municipal police to enforce regulations.”

When asked by DMG, an official of the township municipality said the municipality is too understaffed to adequately tackle the illegal parking in the vicinity of Sittwe’s central market.