Maungdaw, Arakan State: After four days of incessant rain in northern Arakan State, thousands of villagers have found their paddy seedlings damaged from flooding, which has caused an acute crisis, said a local farmer on condition of anonymity.
This year, rice production will be decreased because of the flooding as the paddy seedlings will take time to grow again in the fields, said a farmer from Buthidaung.
“Meanwhile, road communication is cut off between Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships, and schools and businesses are closed. In the villages, all the victims are poor. They are workers earning a meager living. They are suffering.”
“All the paddy fields in northern Arakan were inundated with floodwater which has totally destroyed the paddy seedlings. Regarding this, no officials of the government have visited the affected areas to observe the condition of rural farmers.”
In Maungdaw Township, some of the businessmen will be hampered as their embankments were washed away by the floodwater, releasing the fish from the embankments, said a fishing project owner from Maungdaw.
“The heavy downpour across northern Arakan has also disrupted the smooth transportation of vegetables and other goods to the towns, forcing the traders to hike prices.”
"I bought one kilogram of potatoes today for Kyat 450, which only cost between Kyat 350 and Kyat 400 on the first day of Ramadan. How can we survive and maintain a decent life if the prices of essentials go up unabated?", asked a local elder yesterday.
It has become a tradition that the prices of some essentials usually go up during the month of Ramadan, and the ongoing month of fasting is not an exception as from the very first day of the month prices of some vital items have soared, said a trader from Buthidaung.
The wholesalers at Maungdaw Town admitted that the rains for the last few days have caused a disruption to the smooth supply of vegetables that has led to a price spiral.
Villagers, however, expressed hope that the prices of vegetables will come down to a tolerable level within the next few days.
Similarly, since Sunday heavy rain has hit the southern end of Arakan State, and some villages have been flooded. Some railway dykes and embankments were opened, said a trader from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State.
