Maungdaw, Arakan State: Unabated heavy rain triggered landslide in the mountains on the Maungdaw – Buthidaung Road, which blocked and completely cutoff traffic on June 7, said a trader from Maungdaw.

 Communication between Maungdaw and Buthidaung is completely cutoff, said an official source.

 We can’t do anything because of the rains, the source added..

 On June 8, the authorities of Maungdaw and Buthidaung tried to open the road with 300 people from ward number 6 and Myothugyi village tract including 120 prisoners from Buthidaung jail, said sources.

 “The village authorities forced us to work on the road, where we had to take our own food and got no wages,” said a villager who worked on the road as forced labor.

 “We can’t clear the road and are unable to clear the mud from the road as it is raining and we need more workers,” said a village headman from Myothugyi village tract.

 The authorities of Maungdaw and Buthidaung today planned to clear and try to open the road and another 150 prisoners were brought this morning. Nearly 500 people including prisoners are working today on the road to remove the mud and rocks from the landslide which blocked and cut off the road. The sky is clear and no raining, said a source from the Road Department of Maungdaw.

 We are trying to clear the mud and rocks from the road and to open the road again today, but we don’t know whether we can,” the source said.

 “If the road is blocked one more day, we will face problems as most of the families in Maungdaw depend on this road,” said a trader who brings goods from Buthidaung to Maungdaw for his family survival.