After five weeks of poor water supply, city residents demand action

Highlands

WATER supply into Mt Hagen has slowed to a trickle for the last five weeks and is greatly affecting city residents.
Business houses, schools, institutions and health services in the third city are also reeling from water shortage.
Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital recently made an announcement about the crisis it was facing because of the prolonged slow supply of water.
Businessman Luke Mathew said it was unbecoming of the “third city” to suffer as such.
Mathew said the situation was such that people now resorted to fetching water from nearby creeks and streams.
“Water PNG Mt Hagen Office is yet to properly address and advise users of the cause of problem, and what remedial measures it has taken to rectify the crisis on the mainstream media outlets or other mediums,” he said.
“I call upon the Water PNG Mt Hagen, the Office of the Governor (Paias Wingti), the provincial government, office of the Member for Hagen Open (William Duma) to collectively address andresolve this issue as soon as possible.
“I don’t know why concerned authorities are so quiet as this water shortage problem is affecting us.
“We need urgent solutions to this water problem because Mt Hagen is a city.
“Thousands of people including business houses depend on water.”
Several attempts to contact Water PNG Mt Hagen manager Eliud Mayarom were unsuccessful.
However, Water PNG staff said the problem was caused by the water pumps, which were not strong enough to supply water to the whole population.