Five years after a reservoir was established in Thaing Kyaung Village-tract in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan State, locals are still unable to get water from the reservoir despite annual water shortages.

Many borrowers in Arakan State still can’t pay back loans provided as part of the Mya Sein Yaung (Emerald Green) loan provision program due to regional instability, director U Oo Chit Maung of the Arakan State Rural Development Department told DMG.

Summer paddy is mainly grown in townships such as Arakan State’s Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung and Minbya, and the cultivation of summer paddy this year has increased by almost two times compared with last year.

Security has been tightened in Thandwe and Sittwe, with rumours circulating that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will be visiting Arakan State, according to town residents.

A woman from Arakan State working in Yangon has been missing for seven days, but family members have not yet been able to contact her.

Three local men from Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township who were charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, were slapped with an additional count under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act during a hearing on Monday, according to family members.

A source close to the KNU said the road section was closed because of the heavy fighting between the military and an anti-regime coalition led by Brigade 6 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Kyainnseiggyi Township.

A 19-year-old man drowned in the Maei Creek in Maei town, Arakan State, at around 4 p.m. on January 14, according to sources close to the deceased.

Brickmakers in Arakan State are struggling due to increased production costs and licence fees, while at the same time demand is declining. 

Disability rights activists say the majority of disabled people in Arakan State are supported by their family members, and that there is a need to conduct vocational training courses for them.

Myanmar’s military regime has lifted its travel ban on local and international nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), but aid agencies are not yet allowed to operate freely to assist displacement camps.

Time and time again, courts have postponed these trials, often citing the absence of plaintiffs and prosecution witnesses, according to family members of the affected defendants.

Businessmen are planning to provide part-time jobs to university and college students in Arakan State, taking their cue from a local businessman in Thandwe who provides employment opportunities for students of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) in the town.

Salt produced in Arakan State will be exported to Bangladesh this year for the first time in more than a decade, according to those engaging in salt production.

All domestic flights to and from Loikaw Airport in the Kayah State capital have been suspended until further notice, according to locals. The stoppage of flights followed a rocket attack at the airport earlier this month.

A doctor from Taungup who was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act was slapped with an additional count under Section 8 of the Export and Import Law during a hearing on Thursday, according to family members.

An event to honour three Arakan State philanthropists was held at New World Hall in the state capital Sittwe on Thursday.

A total of 2,500 tonnes of rice from Arakan State was directly exported to Chittagong, Bangladesh, for the first time on January 9, according to the junta-controlled Myanmar Alinn newspaper.

More than 100 pigs including piglets have died in some villages in the north of Arakan State’s Mrauk-Township since last month, according to local residents.