Yangon-Mandalay Expressway checkpoints reduced, remaining ones intensify checks, travelers urged to be cautious

AYEYARWADY TIMES September 13 Although the SAC government is forcibly conscripting citizens under the Conscription Law due to a shortage of soldiers, it has been learned that the SAC military's security checkpoints on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway are gradually decreasing. In recent months, the SAC military's checkpoints on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway have been primarily stationed near the toll gates that collect expressway fees, according to travelers and long-distance bus drivers. It is understood that out of approximately 10 checkpoints along the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway where SAC soldiers are on standby for inspection, only about 5 remain this month. Despite the reduction in the number of checkpoints, inspections at the remaining ones have become more stringent. The SAC military is conducting strict inspections at the Yangon No. 3 Junction, the Zero Mile checkpoint on the expressway, the 115-mile toll gate, the Naypyidaw toll gate, the Zigon toll gate at milepost 284, and the Sagaing toll gate at milepost 352. "The Zero Mile checkpoint is the worst. Recently, a woman was caught talking on her phone and was made to kneel in the rain for half an hour. The other passengers had to wait. The driver warned her, but she didn't finish her call, so she was caught. They don't check much at the Yangon exit, but the checks at the Yangon entrance take a long time. There aren't as many checkpoints as before," a long-distance bus driver told the Ayeyarwaddy Times. Travelers are required to present documents containing passenger lists and identification numbers at every checkpoint when traveling on the expressway, and caution is also needed regarding mobile phone usage. Furthermore, the SAC military is strictly enforcing speed checks and arrests during daytime driving. "We have to submit the passenger list and identification number documents to every checkpoint. If you drive on the expressway during the day, you have to be careful about speeding tickets. They are very strict," said another long-distance bus driver. Since the beginning of 2024 until the current period, a police outpost at milepost 173 on the expressway has been attacked, and military camps and checkpoints at mileposts 319 and 332 have also been ambushed by local resistance forces. Photo – Ayeyarwaddy Times The post Yangon-Mandalay Expressway checkpoints reduced, remaining ones intensify checks, travelers urged to be cautious appeared first on Ayeyarwaddy Times.