Road and bridges: Harbingers of development

Weekender

By MATHEW YAKAI
AT Head Pass, I looked across Malga Green Valley towards Mt Giluwe and marveled at how beautiful it looked. Head Pass, formerly known as Gun Pass, borders the Lower Kagul and Upper Neblyer in Western Highlands.
The 15km Wambul to Pokrapulk road was my childhood track when we village boys frequented the rugged terrain collecting wild pandanus nuts back in the 80s. A fierce tribal fight in the mid 1980s between the Lower Kagul and Upper Kagul people forced the Lower Kaguls to widen the track with nothing but their bush knives, spades, and their hands and it was on that track that we would walk to catch the Hagen-Wabag PMV to Mt Hagen.
After 27 years away from home, I returned there on March 24, 2017. The nostalgic trip brought me back to that track as I inhaled the familiar cold highlands air that told me that I was at home, with Mother Nature.
Bernard was our driver. On the vehicle also were students from Unitech, Balob Teachers College, Divine Word University, Madang Teachers College, University of Goroka, Simbu Teachers Collage, Jiwaka Teachers College and yours truly.
We had been invited by a Gabriel Andandi, a former high school teacher from Wambul village who later worked with United Nations for more than 15 years and is today a prominent businessman.
We were there to witness the official opening of the Kurpir Bridge along the Wambul-Pokrapulk road connecting Lower Kagul district to Upper Neblyer and rest of the world. The K80,000 bridge was funded by Gabriel who was compelled to build the bridge to make travel for his people in the Lower Kagul district easier.
Chinese wisdom has a convincing philosophy that one cannot build a country without first building good roads and bridges. While the topography in PNG can be very challenging for planners and engineers, technology avails today can no doubt help get us around these seeming hurdles.
When Kurpir Bridge was launched on March 25 with a big “Guaia” singsing, the 2,000 plus people congregated at Glama singsing ples and accepted that the 40,000 plus people of Lower Kagul can benefit from the Wambul to Pokrapulk road to eventually access Mt Hagen.
These are the 40,000-plus farmers who literally supply cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, English potato and other highlands fruits and vegetables to Mt Hagen market and most other provinces.
The Lower Kagul people have tilled the land and created wealth out of it because there is no natural resource apart from the sweat of the people who are able to meet market demands, in quality and quantity, if roads and bridges along Wambul-Pokrapulk are up and running to allow trucks, buses and PMVs to move freely.
While Wambul – Tambul – Tomba road is passable, the 2-hour journey can be reduced to a mere 30 mins from Wambul to Tomba if the Wambul-Pokrapulk road is in good shape. This has been the dream of the people of Lower Kagul till now.
Andandi formally engaged a road construction company with two excavators and two dump trucks to put gravel along the Wambul-Pokrapulk road to be completed within three weeks.
Two former students of Tambul High School and prominent businessmen, James Kennedy and Bakri Win Dake also supported the project. Together with Anandi, Kennedy and Dake also believe that good roads open up business possibilities as well as other services such as health and education available in main urban towns and cities.
From the smile on the faces of the villagers on Saturday, March 2, it was evident that this was one step in the right direction for them.
The Poika, Paglme, Mundika and Gaulga tribes looked smart in their traditional paint and costume.
Their “Guia” voices and singsing pattern truly complimented the surrounds and scenic view that comprised the top of Mt Kuniming overlooking Wambul valley, and on to Yapalgu and Malga Tais and capped with Mt Giluwe. The beneath them, the Kagul River meandered through the Neblyer valley.
The people of Tambul-Neblyer-once laborers in coffee, tea and copra plantations- are strong believers in education, business and farming.
They believe in hard work. But roads and bridges continue to remain a major obstacle for them.