The Burmese military junta has been forcing six wheel and 10 wheel trucks to transport goods from Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, to Rangoon and Irrawaddy which were lashed by cyclone Nargis on May 2 and 3, according to sources from Southern Shan State.
 
The forcible transportation started on May  9.
 
"The Burmese military stopped the incoming trucks and forced them to carry food, clothes and other materials to Rangoon. Currently, food and commodities such as salt is very expensive because the cyclone has destroyed the salt mines," the source said.
 
During the past few days, essential commodity prices have increased dramatically in Kunhing Township, 140 miles east of Taunggyi:
                  Before                                                                        Now                           
Gasoline          K 200,000 ($160) per barrel                K 350,000($280)
Salt                 K 2,000 (1.6)   per viss                       K 5,000($4)
Rice                K 18,000 ($14.4) per pack                  K 22,000($17.6)
Cooking oil      K 3,000 ($2.4) per viss                       K 6,000 ($4.8)
 
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2 and 3. At least 100,000 people were believed to have been killed and millions rendered homeless. Thousands of lives could have been saved if the military regime did not ignore the warning given by the Indian Meteorological Department 48 hours in advance about the cyclone path as well as the time and intensity of the cyclone, say critics.