Rubber latex collection is halted due to falling old rubber leaves and the risk of landmines along the rubber plantations on the Thanbyuzayat-Payathonzu road, which connects Mon State and Karen State, according to locals.
According to a rubber plantation owner near Yetagun village, there has been no fighting in the area along the Thanbyuzayat-Payathonzu road. However, locals frequently step on landmines, and as a result, rubber plantation owners and workers are unable to start their work, despite the rubber season coming to an end.
“There is no fighting now. However, no one dares to go to the area around Yetagun as locals have heard reports of people stepping on landmines. Not only rubber plantation owners, but also rubber latex collectors, don’t dare go there,” the local said.
In August and September, during the earliest period of fighting near the Anan Kwain strategic camp, four male workers and one woman lost their limbs due to landmines. In December of last year, two villagers from Zee Hnit Pin village and one man from Ngapa village in Thanbyuzayat also stepped on landmines, according to locals.
There are about 1,000 acres of rubber plantations, including young plantations that have not yet yielded latex, along the Thanbyuzayat-Payathonzu road. Due to the landmines left behind from the fighting that occurred in mid-2024, even the local people, including rubber plantation workers, are still afraid to travel through the area.
“There are around 1,000 acres of rubber plantations in Yetagun, along the Thanbyuzayat and Payathonzu road, where rubber latex collection may or may not be possible. Since the fighting, no one dares to go there. These plantations have been abandoned, resulting in significant losses,” said a rubber plantation owner from Ngapa village, who has grown rubber plants in Yetagun village.
Locals said that fighting took place between the military council and the revolutionary forces for four consecutive days on New Year’s Day 2025, with the military council aiming to prevent the fall of the A Nan Kwin strategic camp.
Sent by IMNA