Flood destroys food gardens, homes, land

Highlands

PEOPLE from Jiwaka who live on the banks of the Komun River have been badly affected by recent flooding and soil erosion.
They lost their food gardens, homes, coffee trees and land.
The section of the river affected has long been used by construction companies and the Works Department to extract gravel since 1958.
The gravel was used to build the highlands highway and other roads in the region.
Last Friday, members of the four clans through their Pimi Ropla Association, presented two petitions to the Western Highlands and Jiwaka governments to raise their concerns at the national level.
Western Highlands administrator Joseph Neng received the petition at the Airport Resort in Mt Hagen while his Jiwaka counterpart Michael Wandil was not present.
Neng promised the association executives that he would help to present the petition to the concerned authorities.
He confirmed that these people have been suffering from the gravel mining since 1958 and as a result lost millions of kina in properties and land.