Ordinary people in Putao City, Kachin State are already facing a shortage of rice, said social workers and local development workers.

Sanlu Ran Sein, a young man working in local social activities, said on May 20, “Last year's rice yield was low. Farmers who have rice do not sell it. They are also worried about eating until the end of the year. Ordinary people have shortage of rice now in city and rural areas. A bag of rice costs more than 300,000 kyats, so it's not easy to buy anything. There is no driveway so there is no income. There will be a famine before the end of the next month. Low income and unemployed families have to cook rice with leaves.”

In Putao city, the price of gasoline is more than 80,000 kyats per litre, and a bag of three and a half basket of rice costs 300,000 kyats or more, and it is not easy to buy it.

The Myitkyina-Putao road section has been closed since March 9 after the Brigade 1 of KIA attacked Sumprabum town.

Regarding the issue of fuel oil, local farmers and elders jointly presented it to the Kachin State Government, and since May 1, 1,000 barrels of fuel oil have been shipped by air and distributed and sold at the rate of three litres per acre of land.

Putao District has six townships and according to the 2014 census, there are 91,257 people living there and around 25,000 acres of farmland.

Putao area is one of the districts with the highest under-one-year-old mortality rate in Myanmar due to conditions such as difficulty in farming and transportation and underdevelopment.

Many ethnic groups such as Shan, Rawan, Lisu, Jingphaw and Burmese live in Putao District.