Residents want govt to dam Bumbu

By ELLEN TIAMU
RESIDENTS of Talair compound in Lae are calling on provincial and national authorities to act quickly to dam the rising Bumbu River.
Spokesman, Nelson Zatura said the recent spate of heavy rains in Lae and the province had again caused the river to rise and the community feared a repeat of 1994 when 76 homes built along the river were washed away and many people left homeless.
The settlement at Kamkumung is the first to have been established in Lae in 1969.
Zatura said many people had made homes for themselves and their families there and had nowhere to go if they lost their houses.
He said provincial and national authorities should help to erect some form of protection along the banks of the river.
Zatura said 15 houses were on the brink of collapse, with more than 1,000 more likely to be affected if heavy rain continued.
Community members have begun contributing K20 towards the hire of an excavator to be used to divert the river.
He said there were people in their community with the expertise to erect barriers along the river banks and young people who were willing to help with labour should authorities require people to work on the project.