Maungdaw: The fencing of the western Burma border with Bangladesh has been postponed by the Burmese military junta with the withdrawal of troops and riot police personnel, who have been constructing the fence since February 2009, said a villager.

"The project has been halted and the soldiers and police constables left the construction site for their respective battalions. But I do not know if the postponement is temporary," he said.

The halt in construction may be related to the onset of the monsoons, because construction work in the region is well nigh impossible with flooding and landslides near the Naff River, said another source.

The junta has been constructing a fence along the border with Bangladesh since February this year, ostensibly to prevent human trafficking and smuggling.

Over 800 soldiers and 700 riot police personnel from battalions in northern Arakan State were transported to the area to construct the fence, but most of the work was being done by local villagers as day labourers.

Many villagers around Maungdaw Township worked in the project as day labourers in the hope of earning wages. The government is paying between 1,500 and 3,000 kyat for a day's work.

A sizeable amount of funds have been spent on the project to date, but the construction has failed to achieve the regime’s target.

"The authorities wanted the construction of the fences to be completed before the rainy season, but there were many obstacles when the project started," a Maungdaw official said.

Since the site for the border fence is along the Naff River, the authorities had to first construct embankments to support the pillars for the fence. Many workers were at hand for the work, but labourers and soldiers were unable to work during the day due to the extreme heat.

According to a local government source, 20 percent of the project is complete so far. The project is likely to resume after the monsoons