Lealea village in darkness

National, Normal
Source:

The National- Wednesday, January 19, 2011

 By KARI TOTONA

ELECTRICITY supply in Lealea village in Central has been cut off since last Thursday.

A villager who requested anonymity said they had been disconnected from the rest of the city as 

they were unable to call their relatives in town and other centres.

“Our phones are off because we cannot re-charge them, frozen goods in tucker shops have also gone bad as a result,” she said.

She urged the relevant authorities to look into this immediately to restore power to the village.

“What is causing this blackout and what are they doing about this, we cannot wait any longer,” she asked.

PNG Power when contacted said power should be restored by the end of the week as they were still investigating the matter.

“According to reports last week, a wooden power pole was burnt at Boera village near the road side.”

It was not known what caused the fire but PNG Power authorities suspect it was vandalism or bushfire.

“Materials have been gathered and a new power pole should be installed by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, PNG Power appealed to villagers along the affected area to be cautious of power poles and take more care of services provided.

“The public must be aware of this and stay away from such behaviour that could affect the whole village,” he said.

This is the second time a power pole had been burnt since last year in the same area and PNG Power appealed to the villages affected to be patient as they were working around the clock to get power restored by the end of the week.