Ponna Kyunt: A main traffic channel in Arakan State between the Kaladan and Mayu Rivers, has been blocked after authorities constructed a railway route on an embankment along the channel, said a businessman in Ponna Kyunt.

"The main traffic channel in our township is now blocked after the channel had embankments built by authorities for the railway route. No boats are able to cross the channel from one side to the other," he said.

The channel, Min Chaung Creek, is located in Ponna Kyunt Township 16 miles north of the state capital Sittwe. It is important in terms of transportation of Arakanese people because it is a shortcut waterway linking central and northern Arakan.

"We have always travelled along the channel in motor boats and row boats in the past whenever we went to some townships in northern Arakan State from our township, but now we have lost the opportunity to travel by boat to other areas along the channel," he said.

If anyone wants to travel north by boat from the Kaladan region after the channel has an embankment built, they must first drive to the mouth of the Kaladan River near Sittwe. After that, the boat must travel to Mingan Creek in northern Sittwe to reach the Mayu River, along which Rathidaung and Buthidaung are located.

"We have to spend at least 10 hours travelling by boat since the channel was blocked if we go to the northern townships of Rathidaung and Buthidaung in Arakan State. We also have to spend more for fuel for our motorboats because of the blockage of the channel," he added.

Many Arakanese people, mostly businessmen, are suffering due to the construction of the railway route and blockage of the channel. The channel has been used as a short cut by Arakanese people since time immemorial.

A civil engineer from Sittwe said, "The authorities could construct a bridge over the creek instead of the embankment, if they understood the peoples' difficulties. But they were not interested in constructing a bridge because the authorities wanted to avoid the extra cost of the bridge. So they built an embankment on the creek instead of a bridge."

The railway being constructed by the military authorities will operate from Sittwe to Ann in central Arakan in order to connect with Burma proper. Currently, 11 miles of track from Sittwe to Ray Chanbyin has already been completed and other parts of the route are under construction. The Min Chaung Channel is located in the path of the railway.

The channel flows beside the town of Ponna Kyunt and locals used it to bypass Sittwe whenever they traveled to northern Arakan before the authorities blocked it for the new railway route.