Highway killings affect business

THE deaths of four men at Doa, Central, a week ago has impacted the operations of a rubber company.
A Goilala man was killed along the Hiritano Highway which then led to the killing of three men from the Highlands region in retaliation.
Galley Reach Holdings Limited estate manager Subramaniam Velupillai said the situation was still tense, forcing their workers to stay home for safety reasons.
He said some individuals were still walking around with bush knives which was causing fear among the plantation workers.
“We have about 900 staff of which 600 are plantation workers, they are the ones who do the tapping,” Velupillai said.
He said most of the company workers had not come to work since the killings and this was affecting the business.
“We need fuel for our generators but the fuel cars from Islands Petroleum cannot come because of the situation.
“We need to transport rubber from small holders from Upulima, and Cape Rodney along the Magi Highway but the drivers are scared to travel.
“We usually ship 20 containers of rubber to Malaysia but so far, we have lost 10 containers valued at US$200,000 (K700,000.00), in just one week because of the situation.”
There are two huge rubber processing plants in the country and Galley Reach Holdings is the bigger one.
Velupillai called on Kairuku-Hiri MP Peter Isoaimo and Central Governor Robert Agarobe to intervene and address the issue and maintain peace.
“The Gulf Governor Chris Haiveta has already responded to our call and has asked us to provide a situation report,” he said.