Heavy rains cause damage to highway

HEAVY rain last week cut off the Opil section of the Highlands Highway between Waratamba and Dumun junction in Sinasina, Chimbu.
A small creek near the highway burst its banks flooding the highway washing away a section of the road.
Lorma Construction, which is working on the highway, repaired the damaged section last Friday.
Dumun community leader Bomal Bobby expressed concern that a section of the highway between Dumun and Nintul had never been acquired by the government in the initial stage of the highway construction.
He said that stretch of the highway had not been maintained because of the outstanding claims that were covered in the Highlands Highway rehabilitation programme.
“The people of Dumun have a genuine case that must be settled ahead of others,” Bobby said.
He said Kundiawa police, provincial works and the provincial government should address a protest they staged in Dumun recently, adding that the continuous rain would cause more problems for highway users.
It is understood Mori Resource Consultants will be paying landowners with outstanding claims along the Chimbu section of the highway before the end of the year.