Landowners stop work on road with court challenge

THE construction of a road linking displaced Kadovar islanders at the Dandan care centre, in Turubu LLG, Wewak, East Sepik, has been stalled after the landowners took the matter to court.
Sirr village landowners claim they were not properly consulted by the Wewak district development authority and the provincial government before the work started on the 1.8km Sirr-Dandan road.
This road is intended to reach the care centre at Dandan Village, next to Sirr village.
On Friday, acting Judge Sinclair Gora ordered the defendants, including acting Wewak district administrator Martin Maingu, to stop work while the case was before the court.
The defendants are provincial works manager Benjamin Haiken, the Wewak district development authority and the provincial government.
The court ordered the defendants to immediately remove all machinery, plant equipment, vehicles and employees from the site.
The landowners said they will have further dialogue with the Wewak district administration and the provincial government to try and resolve the dispute out of court.