Ten wheel trucks banned from traveling from Ye to Tavoy

August 20, 2009

HURFOM: Ten wheels truck owners are angry over a ban by authorities, issued mid June, on sending shipments via 10-wheeled truck along the road from Ye to Tavoy in the middle of the rainy season.

The transportation restriction is not the only source of truck owner’s anger – local checkpoints are charging nearly double the previous tax to allow truck owners passage.

Drivers report that many checkpoints are set up along the high ways between Mawlamyine to Tavoy, to collect taxes from trucks that are transporting goods between the two cities.

“The authorities are increasing the taxes but they never repair the roads,” A 10-wheel-truck-diver, Ko Thoe Thar, (name changed for security purposes) explained. “They only know how to take, but they didn’t consider repairing the road to be better in the future. That’s is the reason our country will not develop!”

According to a HURFOM field reporter, checkpoints previously enforced a tax of 200 kyat for motorbikes, 500 kyat for small trucks, and 5,000 kyat for 10-wheel trucks. Now the tax has nearly doubled, with drivers having to pay 400 kyat for one bike, 1,000 kyat for a small truck and 8,000 kyat for a 10-wheel truck to cross.

“Our traders, who rent our trucks, have employed us to go directly to Tavoy for their goods,” complained Ko Myit Maung, a 10-wheel truck owner. “Now we get less of an advantage when the traders rent our trucks because we have to change to small trucks to get to Tavoy.”

The road between Ye to Tavoy is notoriously unsafe, particularly during the rainy season. Sources familiar with the route have described several accidents that occurred when heavy trucks lost control on the broken and winding mountain road. Despite the danger an exact number of accidents and deaths has not been documented.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News