Hundreds of vehicles stuck for days on Mandalay-Myitkyina road, passengers face hardship, goods rotting

Photo – Hundreds of vehicles are stuck for days on the Mandalay-Myitkyina road due to fighting, causing hardship for passengers and rotting of goods. (Screenshot from a TikTok video) 001 (July 9) Mizzima. Hundreds of vehicles are stuck for days on the Mandalay-Myitkyina road, which connects central Myanmar and Kachin State, due to fighting between the military junta and resistance forces, causing hardship for passengers and rotting of goods, according to some passenger car drivers and traders operating between Mandalay and Myitkyina. Currently, there are three routes to travel between Mandalay and Myitkyina. One route is the Nabah-Katha road, which has been closed since the afternoon of June 30 and has not yet reopened. Another route is the Maza-Nantthe-Indawkyun road, which has been blocked for about 15 days. The remaining route goes via Banmaw, but the road conditions are very poor and it takes about four days, a driver operating between Mandalay and Myitkyina told Mizzima this morning (July 9). "In this Nabah area, they are not stuck in one place. Some are stuck in Nabah, some in Penwe, and some in Mooloe. The cars coming down from Myitkyina must be over 300. When I spoke to my car driver, he said there were about 400 cars," he said. He added that he did not know how many vehicles were stuck on the Maza-Nantthe-Indawkyun road section, which is mostly used by large vehicles. Phone line disruptions are also occurring on these road sections. As the vehicles have been stuck on these routes for a long time, some passengers are running out of money, and some passengers are having difficulty getting even one meal. Those with poor health are also facing hardship, and goods such as tomatoes, flower bouquets, and betel nuts are rotting, said an official from a terminal operating passenger cars between Mandalay and Myitkyina. A flower trader, who transports flowers from Taunggyi, Mandalay, and Pyin Oo Lwin to areas like Myitkyina and Mohnyin, also said his flowers have suffered significant damage. "We traders are suffering huge losses from the flower bouquets. There are bouquets worth four or five lakhs (of Kyats) per bunch. My flowers are also included, a lot of them. The flowers, how can I say it, all traders are losing now. The flowers have to be thrown away on the road. At this time, no one is going to buy them on the road," he said. A female resident of Myitkyina also said that commodity prices have risen in Myitkyina due to the closure of the Mandalay-Myitkyina road, which is a major route for goods to flow into the city. "They are rising. Since the roads are closed, commodity prices are all rising. They have risen a lot. For example, oil used to cost 6,000 Kyats for 1/8 tical (about 20 grams), but now it's 8,000 Kyats. It's also becoming difficult to buy other goods. For fresh chilies and tomatoes, we used to be able to buy for 2,000 Kyats or 1,500 Kyats worth. Now we can't. We have to buy for 3,000 Kyats or 5,000 Kyats worth," she said. On June 30, fighting broke out between resistance forces and military troops in Laykhong village, Katha Township, on the Katha-Nabah road section, and a merchant couple from Nankhon village were caught in the fighting and killed by artillery fire, according to a statement released by Indaw Revolution – IR on July 3. The Kachin news agency The 74 Media also reported on July 8 that the military has been launching offensives with large forces since early April to capture Indaw and Mooloe, which were occupied by the resistance coalition forces, and is continuing its offensive in other townships, leading to clashes in some areas, and the Mandalay-Myitkyina road section has been closed from June 30 to the present day. Editor: Aung Kyaw Phyo