Authorities in Paletwa have allowed people to bring 1,400 bags of rice to the town in southern Chin State after the supply of basic foodstuffs was blocked since fighting broke out with the Arakan Army.
Theoretically, each family could have bought a bag after presenting their papers, but there was not enough rice for everyone and the price of what was available was high.
A woman told Khonumthung News she paid $34 for a sack of rice but before the army forced the closure of water routes into the town, a bag of rice cost only $25. She said eggs and onions were also sold.
Authorities allowed traders to bring rice into the town after religious leaders of both Buddhist and Christian faiths pleaded with authorities to reopen the Kalandan River to transport the food and fuel from Kyauktaw in northern Rakhine State.
Another local source said that 4 motorboats were recently permitted to transport 40 barrels of diesel, rice and other food items on 2 November.
The town receives its electricity from diesel powered generators and prior to the delivery there was no power.
Community leaders are already trying to convince the Burma Army to allow a second shipment of rice to the town to feed everyone.