The indefinite blockade in Rangamati's Sajek tourist hub entered its seventh consecutive day on Wednesday, with no vehicles plying the Sajek route since morning. The ongoing shutdown, which began last Thursday, has triggered a severe shortage of daily essentials in the area and left jhum cultivators stranded as they cannot transport their agricultural produce to local markets.
Furthermore, the suspension of transport services has severely impacted hundreds of tourist vehicle drivers and their assistants, who are now running their households on borrowed money. Many vehicle owners are also grappling with deep anxiety over repaying their loan installments.
The indefinite blockade has been called jointly by the Sajek Gono Odhikar Rokkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association, marking the third time the two organizations have enforced such a shutdown. Citing security risks, the Rangamati district administration has temporarily closed the Sajek tourist center, prompting visitors to leave the area.
Anitya Tripura, a member of Ward No. 2 of the Sajek Union Parishad (UP), told Chitra Post that local residents are currently surviving on whatever food they have stored at home. Essential supplies at five local shops in Ruilui Para are also fast depleting. If the blockade continues for another day or two, a serious food crisis could emerge in the region.
Joupeithang Tripura, headman of Mouza No. 169 Shialdai and a UP member of Ward No. 9, said that the majority of residents across the 22 hamlets in his ward depend on jhum cultivation. Due to the blockade, they are unable to travel to the Machalong market, leaving them unable to sell cash crops such as bananas, papayas, sugarcane, sweet pumpkins, ash gourds, and aroid. As a result, much of the produce is ripening and rotting in the fields. Markets are also facing acute shortages of household necessities, including nappi (fermented fish paste), dried fish, and essential medicines.
