District repairs collapsed bridge in Karkar, Madang

By DOROTHY MARK
GOOD news for copra farmers on Karkar in Madang: the Rasi bridge at Muluk village on Karkar which had collapsed has been repaired and ready for use.
Sumkar MP Chris Nangoi said the district development authority had allocated funds to have work on the bridge completed.
Since the bridge collapsed, farmers had been finding it difficult to transport their crops to the market as many drivers refused to carry loads over the wet crossing.
Nangoi said once the bridge was opened, vehicles could cross and carry farmers to the market.
Meanwhile, the district development authority has allocated K580,000 to pay the fees of students attending tertiary institutions.
Nangoi said the district development authority came up with that plan to assist parents who rely on cocoa and copra alone to pay fees for their children attending tertiary institutions.
“We realised that copra and cocoa prices have dropped and parents are now faced with the difficulty of paying for tuitions fees for their children especially those attending tertiary institutions,” he said.
He said students who would benefit were those whose parents lived in the villages.
People living on Karkar and Bagbag islands and Sumgilbar depend heavily on copra and cocoa for their income. Also in Madang, 500 school teachers will continue their protest over outstanding leave fares from 2017.
PNG Teachers Association Madang branch president Remsy Oss said the teachers had agreed to stay away from classes until the Madang provincial government addressed the issue.
All students were turned away from schools last week while teachers sat around in their schools waiting for a positive response from the provincial government. Madang acting provincial administrator John Bivi urged teachers to resume duties while the matter was being sorted out.
Madang Governor Peter Yama said he would investigate how leaves fares set aside for the teachers in 2017 were not paid to them.