Rains have damaged the Hpakant-Mogaung road and hundreds of cars are locked in a daily traffic jam, reports say.
The heavy vehicles used in jade mining are the cause of the jam, residents say.
“It takes the whole day to reach the other side. The heavy vehicles take up almost two-thirds of the road. The drivers are also reckless,” said a driver at Mawwun gate in Hpakant, Kachin State.
About 500 vehicles are locked in the traffic jam around the five-mile area of Namtane village, according to the Hpakant township administration office.
“We are trying to manage the road. The drivers are poor at following the traffic rules. They park their vehicles in the wrong places. The backhoes block the road which is swamped by the rain so we can’t fix it,” said Myo Thet Aung, the deputy chief of the administration office.
The mining companies tried to mend the road last month under the instruction of the state government, but the process is in hiatus due to the disastrous collapse of dumped soil.
The Northern Royal Jewel Company which won the tender to improve the Hpakant-Mogaung road could not finalise it and sparked the outcry from residents.
Source: ELEVEN
