A K30,000 fine will be imposed on three-wheeled motorcycles and motorbikes entering and stopping at Myoma Market in Sittwe, Arakan State, according to the township development committee.

The new punitive measure aims to alleviate traffic jams caused by the entry and stopping of motorbikes and three-wheeled motorcycles inside the market, said U Tin Min Zaw, deputy staff officer of the Sittwe Township Development Committee.

Signboards were erected near the market to indicate that action would be taken against violators beginning November 23.

“Violators will be fined for the first time. In the future, we will cooperate with the traffic police to take action against the violators,” U Tin Min Zaw told DMG.

He added that motorbikes and three-wheeled motorcycles must be parked at the designated locations whether they are transporting passengers or goods.

Supporters of the new regulation note that the narrow lanes of Myoma Market are not conducive to accommodating both pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

“It is not convenient for us to go around Myoma Market in the morning because the bazaar is crowded with three-wheeled motorcycles and motorbikes. I think a fine on three-wheeled motorcycles and motorbikes entering and stopping at Myoma Market is good,” said Ma Than Than Soe, a Sittwe resident.

Ko Nyi Khaing Thwee, another resident of Sittwe, expressed ambivalence when asked about the recently instituted policy.

“Punishing non-compliant motorcycles should be done. However, these three-wheeled motorcycle taxi drivers are also facing difficulties in getting passengers and facing rising fuel prices, so their difficulties should be taken into account,” he said.

A one-way system for four-wheeled vehicles and motorbikes was introduced around Sittwe’s Myoma Market on November 13 in another attempt to ease traffic congestion near the venue.