Maungdaw, Arakan State: Recently, the concerned authorities of Maungdaw Township forcibly collected tolls from the new owner of a motorbike, said the buyer of the motorbike in Maungdaw Town.
Currently in Maungdaw Town, a new motorbike can be purchased for 500,000 kyats, but the buyer also has to pay around 450,000 kyats to the concerned authorities.
The customer has to pay as a toll 300,000 kyats to the traffic police for a license, 20,000 kyats for a driver license, 20,000 kyats for a road license, 75,000 kyats for tax, and 35,000 kyats to the Township Administer Office (TAO). In total, a customer has to pay tolls nearly equal to the buying rate.
The authorities concerned have long collected money from villagers who purchase various kinds of items, such as wood, bamboo, cattle, houses, etc. But at this time, they are also collecting tolls when a villager buys a motorbike, said local elder who prefers not to be named.
“The authorities always try how to extract money from the Rohingya community.”
