Ann township of Rakhine State has reported theshortage of rice supply, where the shops are selling only two pyi (4 kilograms) of rice forevery household.

The local residents informed Narinjara News that theshops in urban areas run out of rice supply and the manual labourers are buyingonly two pyi per household while standing in queue.

"We have to stand in the line at grocery storesto buy the limited volume of rice. Some people remain hungry as they have notbeen able to arrange the rice. I went to buy the rice for my family andchildren, but had to run out,” said a local lady.

A rice shop owner claims that due to the closure ofroads there is a shortage of supply and hence they are selling rice equallyamong the households.

"All the roads are closed, which makes itdifficult to enter Ann locality. Due to the ongoing conflicts, only one ricedelivery is reported every month. I'm concerned that the shops will soon runout of rice," he added.

The current price of one pyi of rice is Kyats 4,000and it becomes difficult for the manual labourers to buy the rice.

"We have to pay Kyats 4,000 for 1 pyi of rice.Even if you have the money, it's hard to buy because of short supplies. Withoutoil or salt, we can still make porridge if we have rice. But now, with all theroads closed and  people are going hungry,” added the lady.

A social activist argues that if the military juntaallows the rice sellers from rural areas to enter Ann township the problem maybe solved.

"The junta has deliberately created thissituation to blame the Arakan Army. Access to Ann township from rural areasremains very difficult. The urban residents are also prohibited from visitingrural localities. The  junta can only solve the problem by opening roadsentering the township. They may have an option to transport food items byairplanes," he added.

The  Ann residents are queuing in front ofgrocery stores from  5 am to collect the rice grains. The AA hasofficially announced the closure of Ann-Padan road, connecting Ann to Ngapetownship  and Magway region on 2 April due to the increased militaryactivities.

The Gwa-Ngathainggyaung road, Taungup-Pandaung (Pyay)road and Ann-Minbu road, which traverse the mountain range between RakhineState and the mainland have also been closed since 13 November.