Land row stops water repair work

WATER PNG in Lae is unable to attend to the ongoing leakage at Butibam village due to the ongoing land issues with the landowners.
Lae Water PNG Customer Service manager Wallis Pingin told The National that he had arranged for a meeting with the landowners to discuss the problem.
“I am making a commitment to fix the leakage at the pump station and I am equally concerned that it has become a health hazard to the communities around the area,” he said.
“The Water PNG had been deprived by the landowners to go in and address the issue and I understand it is our responsibility as a government division to address the issue.”
Earlier Water PNG maintenance team were allegedly attacked by landowners from Butibam when they went to check on the pumps. The landowners claimed that the sewerage pump station at Butibam was on their land and that they had not been compensated for it since it was built. Pingin said Water PNG officers might have to seek a police escort to enter the village and attend to the leakage because it had already become a health hazard for the communities.