MP allocates K2mil for road to connect people to province

DEI MP Westley Nukundj has allocated K2 million from his district funds to build a road from Kotna to Rulna in Western Highlands connecting people from the area to the rest of the province.
The 12.3km road is expected to benefit more than 10,000 people from six local level governments (LLGs).
Most of these people live at Rulna on the border with Madang and walk for almost eight hours to get to a PMV stop to go to Mt Hagen.
According to locals, having a road has been a major need for decades.
They said most of the existing roads going to their area had been cut off by landslides while some had not been maintained adequately and were unusable.
They said three primary and an elementary school, a health centre and two community aid posts were located along that side, but the road had become a burden in their operation.
Dei development authority chief executive officer Batamai Tipi presented the cheque to the Rocky Mountain Construction company last week to build the road.
Tipi, during the cheque presentation, said the people had been without a proper road network for years.
He said health and education services were not accessed properly because of the lack of roads to transport medical supplies and learning materials.
“About six LLGs are located on that side, but these people have been suffering for a very long time without any proper recognition from past leaders,” he said.
Tipi said Nukundj had prioritised the road in order for development and improved services in the area.