There has been an alarming rise in road accidents because of heavy dust on the Ledo Road connecting Burma and India in Burma's northern Kachin state. There are at least 10 car accidents per month, said local travellers.
The Ledo Road also called Stilwell Road is being reconstructed from early November, 2008 by Yuzana Company based in Burma's former capital Rangoon and headed by U Htay Myint. The smog is created by rising dust from earth and sand stones on the road being dumped by the company, local people said.
Most cars accidents occur with car divers speeding while crossing many short broken wooden bridges on the road not being able to see clearly, said local travellers.
There have been instances of cars hitting motorcyclists and people walking along the road. There are hit and run cases with the drivers fleeing with the cars from the scene, added a resident of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State who recently travelled to Danai (Tanai) city in Hukawng (Hugawng) Valley.
Currently, the local authorities of the Burmese military junta are not handling the accidents on Ledo Road correctly. On the contrary the officials are making money from goods cars and trucks heading for Hukawng Valley from the rest of Kachin state, said sources close to authorities.
The sources said, there are over 30 official checkpoints of the Burmese military and police based on the Ledo Road between Myitkyina-Danai. By ostensibly checking cars, which have killed people on the road, they stopping all goods trucks. There are goods trucks without licenses plying on the road for a long time. The soldiers and police in the two cities of Namti and Danai demand bribes to the tune of 100,000 Kyat (US $88) to 500,000 Kyat (US $ 439) per goods vehicle.
A goods truck driver in Myitkyina who recently came back from Danai said, "Only a single round-trip, I had to pay more than 2 million Kyat (US $1,754) as bribes to the Burmese soldiers and policemen in all checkpoints on the Ledo Road between Myitkyina and Danai."
A goods vehicle driver said, the military authorities earn at least 4 million Kyat (US $3,508) to 5 million Kyat (US $4,386) when they stop and demand money from a line of about 20 to 30 vehicles. The money is shared between the military and the police.
According to local travellers, Myitkyina-Danai Ledo Road is one of the busiest roads in Kachin state with 100 to 200 passengers and goods vehicles plying daily.
