Traffic jams have been reported along Myanmar’s roads since the morning of April 9 due to the large number of people returning from Yangon and other population centres to various other places during the Thingyan holiday.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the Yangon-Pathein Highway and the Zero Mile on the Yangon-Naypyidaw Expressway since Saturday morning due to the large number of returnees from the Ayeyawady and Bago regions, among the closest areas to Yangon, said a bus driver plying a route between Yangon and Pathein.

“Traffic jams have been reported since this morning and those who return to Bago are stranded at Zero Mile on the Yangon-Naypyidaw Expressway,” the bus driver added.

Security has been tightened at Htantabin and Pan Taing checkpoints between Yangon and Ayeyawady regions, with security checks and interrogations of passengers by police and the military, according to locals.

Traffic at Zero Mile on the Yangon-Naypyidaw Expressway is also congested due to the influx of people returning from Yangon to Bago, Sagaing Region and Mon State, said a bus driver plying the route between Yangon and the Mon State capital Mawlamyine.

“The traffic was light because we had to go through Mawlamyine via Bago on the Yangon-Mandalay old road. Hundreds of vehicles are stranded at the tollgate on the Yangon-Naypyidaw Expressway. In addition, security has been tightened at the checkpoint on the expressway,” the driver said.

Bus tickets were sold out at Yangon’s Aung Mingalar and Dagon Ayar bus terminals ahead of the Thingyan holiday, according to bus lines in Yangon.

The Thingyan holiday runs from April 13 to 16 this year.