Arakanese traveling in boats between Taungup Township and Kyauk Pru in western Burma's Arakan State now have to pay tolls for their consumer goods as authorized by the Burmese navy, said one local boat owner.
Bumese Naval Force No. 3 based in Kyauk Pru has authorized Thura Tun Tin, a police officer form Lamu-Maw Ywa police station, and Ohn Phay, VPDC Chairperson from Maw Ywa Village, to collect tolls from boat passengers in Taungup Township effective 19 June, 2009, said the boat owner. The cost of the authorization to collect tolls is reported to be 700,000 kyat annually.
"They are collecting the tolls for the shopping goods and merchandise that people carry on passenger boats running between Taungup Township and Kyauk Pru," the owner told Narinjara, with a request for anonymity.
He said that 2,000 kyat was charged for one tub of kerosene or cooking oil, 500 kyat for a 50 kilogrambag of rice, and 100 to 300 kyat for other commodities of varying size and number, which passengers bring for their household use or trading.
The cargo boats are also charged a toll ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 kyat according to their size, he added.
Most of the villagers from Taungup Township near Kyauk Pru are traveling between the two townships for their personal shopping or market trips, because the Kyauk Pru market is better than those in Taungup.
However, the new toll system recently introduced by the Burmese navy is causing difficulty for general consumers and traders from the Taungup villages, said one resident.
"It is typical to pay a toll for any merchandise at any at any authorized or unauthorized gates run by Burmese authorities from different departments. But now it has become trouble for the general people as [the toll collectors] take tolls for commodities such as one bag of rice, one viss of onion or dried chiles, brought for household purposes. It is like robbing from the public," said the villager.
According to local people, the Burmese military authorities in Arakan State have privatized public toll collection for facilities such as roads, ports, jetties and markets, apart from imposing legal taxation on local businesses and traders, and taking bribes from local businessmen.
