Police arrest excavator operator

ENGA police have arrested an excavator operator whose machine damaged the newly sealed road in Wabag town, Enga.
Police said the man had moved the machine for 500m from Sagurap within the town to Amala village.
Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari told The National from Wabag that it was the first time a heavy machine operator was arrested for negligence by damaging the road and which would gradually lead to erosion and create pot holes.
Lakari said the equipment operator, Samson Poye, from Konta village in Dei district, Western Highlands, was charged with moving a heavy machine on a public road without a proper escort.
He said police refused bail and Poye would appear today at the Wabag District Court for mention.
He said the Wabag road had just been recently sealed at the cost of more than K3 million.
Lakari said it was a state property and operators who did not respect public property would be punished.
He said construction companies who own and operated heavy machines must provide escort and engage a big truck to transport the machine.
He said old tyres placed on the road could prevent the chains from damaging or leaving marks on the road.
Lakari appealed to the construction companies in the province to be careful when moving machines around.
Meanwhile, he asked people living along the Wapenamanda to Wabag road not to take advantage of the many deteriorating sections of the road by conducting illegal road blocks and collecting fees from commuters and motorists, saying that this was a criminal offence.