Mizzima
The Putao town in Kachin State which has been under blockade for over two months is now facing severe food and fuel shortages with skyrocketing commodity prices.
The Myitkyina-Putao highway has been blocked since the war broke out in Sumprabum in Putao District and it was occupied by the resistance forces later. And then the whole Putao District is facing a severe shortage of food, especially the staple food rice, so that thousands of families are reportedly in trouble.
Currently the price of petrol in Putao is nearly 100,000 Kyats per bottle (approx. one litre) and food prices have risen three-fold.
The people living in Putao District of Sumprabum, Machanbaw, Nogmong and Kawnglangphu are having difficulty buying rice, with the price high when available.
The rice cultivation in Putao District this year is lower than previous years. A local resident said that they had to face severe rice shortage with low rice production this year and the road blockade.
A local resident said that the NGOs in the town including the charity groups providing social aid to people are having problems and some have had to suspend their work because of exorbitant fuel prices.
This resident also said that they would like to request the people concerned to reopen the road to Putao which was the sole road for goods flow to the town as the people are facing skyrocketing food prices and severe fuel shortage. The people wanted all roads in Putao District reopened, he added.
The local residents said that the junta army had blocked and closed this sole road connecting Putao when the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched an attack on junta army troops in Sumprabum on 10 March.
Even after the KIA occupied Sumprabum, KIA and junta troops are still fighting on the Myitkyina-Putao highway.
On a macro level, the World Food Programme (WFP) says Myanmar is facing food shortages.
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a recent report that the war refugees needed emergency protection and relief and that hunger and famine is growing in the entire country. Nearly 12.9 million people or nearly 25% of Myanmar population are facing severe food shortage, the report says.
