With a passenger ferry operator shipping cargo in passenger ships travelers between Sittwe and Buthidaung found their seats taken up by commodities.
The Sittwe to Buthidaung waterway is a key route in Arakan State for trade with Bangladesh, and many Arakanese travel the route on their way to Bangladesh. In order to travel to Bangladesh from Burma on a seven-day visa, a person must travel 80 miles to Buthidaung from Sittwe on board government ferry ships. After arriving in Buthidaung, they have to travel to Maungdaw on the border by automobile. After arriving in Maungdaw, passage to Bangladesh requires crossing the Naff River on board a motor boat.
This is the only way Arakanese can travel to Bangladesh, and the ferry and auto routes between Sittwe, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw are always busy.
According to local sources, many travelers are now facing a harsher voyage to Bangladesh because one transport operator has begun shipping cargo on the ferry ships between Sittwe and Buthidaung.
A traveler from Sittwe said over telephone yesterday, "We have no chance to sit on the ferry ships for the trip to Buthidaung from Sittwe because there are many goods stacked on the ships that are being transported by the company."
The transport company is owned by U Kyaw Yin, who is Secretary of the Arakan State Union and Solidarity Development Association. Higher authorities granted him permission to act as a waterway transportation agent between Sittwe and Buthidaung.
"The agent should send the goods to Buthidaung from Sittwe in container ships. Travelers are suffering because the agent is carrying goods and other cargo materials in the passenger ferry ships. Many passengers have lost their seats because of this," the traveler said.
The company is transporting cargo on board all ferry ships that are plying the waters between Sittwe and Buthidaung. There are six or seven ferry ships owned by the state that operate on that route.
"We can tolerate it if the agent used the container hold of the ships for the goods, but it is not only using the container hold, but also other places on the ship that are meant for travelers. It is affecting travelers, so we are opposed to the transportation agent," the traveler said.
It is learnt that everybody, including local government officials, can plainly see and are affected by the problem whenever traveling on the ferry ships, but no one is able to take action or complain because the company is owned by the Arakan State USDA Secretary.
