Pope John Paul II oval haven for illegal drugs

POPE John Paul II Oval located in the heart of Mt Hagen city, Western Highlands province, was now becoming a haven for illegal drugs.
This oval was named after Late Pope John Paul II  after his visit to the province in 1984, and now it was used by different churches to stage crusades, political rallies and other big gatherings.
But recently, it turned into a very hot spot for drug trading.
People who reside at Warakum, HMI and Solo Gate become victims of these drug addicts and many are scared  to walk across the oval to their homes or to the city.
These illegal activities are taking place some few metres away from the police traffic office but nothing has been done by the police to stop it.
Michael Wamp, an employee of the Mt Hagen City Authority, confirmed the reports after he was assigned by the city authority to do clean up at the oval since last week.
 Mr Wamp said hundreds of youths turned up at the oval everyday to buy and smoke marijuana and was becoming a very common practice.
He said youths, especially males, sat in  groups of fives or 10, rolled marijuana and smoked.
Mr Wamp said these illegal activities were taking place right in the heart of the city and people in authority were not doing anything to stop it.
He said other youths travelling to Enga or Southern Highlands provinces also went to the oval to buy marijuana roll commonly known as “pack” and smoke it before travelling on the buses.
Mt Hagen acting city manager Victa Megao also confirmed the report but said his office could not do much to get rid of these drug dealers and users.
 He said it was the police job to chase them away while their job was to clean and beautify the city.