The Burmese Army battalion has banned residents of three villages in southern Burma from going to their plantations not only during the day but also at night, at a time when fruits need to be plucked. The ban has been put in place because Mon guerillas are active in the area.

The Burmese Infantry Battalion (IB) No-282 based in Yebyu Township Tenasserim Division has restricted Kumai village, Paukpinkwin village, and Alaesakhan village in Ye Township Mon State, said a Kumai villager who owns an areca palm plantation.

"I need to harvest areca nuts from my plantation. But I can't go there because they (Burmese Army) have banned visits to the plantation both during the day and night," said that villager.

The ban started on August 21 and no one knows when it will be lifted, he added. The army had told them that the Mon guerilla group led by Nai Chan Dein is moving in the area.

After ten days of ban they usually order registering of documents in their battalion for travel purposes.

"We would like to harvest the fruits timely but we have to be patient and wait to reap the crop," said a farm owner.

They are unable to pluck durian and mangosteen from the plantations due to the ban by the army, said the farm owner, "They have been imposing the ban during harvesting over the last three years," he added.

Most of the villagers from southern Ye Township rely on income from plantations. Their plantations are also mixed up with paddy fields. That's why they are worried about the cows and water buffaloes at the farm.

The most cultivated products are areca nuts, rubber and cashew nut in southern Mon State and Tenasserim Division near the Mon State border.