Villager wants road works completed

 A VILLAGE chief in the Lower Wage local level government in Komo-Magarima, Hela, wants faster construction of the Hiri-Lai road.

The road serves as a shortcut into Mendi town for more than 16,000 Waip villagers.

Chief Rom Alheo of Waip village in the Waip council ward said a local contractor was engaged last April to work on the road but progress had been very slow.

Alheo said the work started at Hiri but had stopped at Suko village, covering less than a kilometre.

“The road maintenance has not reached my village yet,” he said.

“The way the work is being carried out, it looks like it will take another year or two to reach my village.”

Alheo said it was an important road for Hela people because it provided a shortcut into Mendi town.

He said the existing road from Margarima to Nipa, then to Poroma and Mendi would usually take three hours to travel.

“The people of Komo-Magarima and the rest of Hela want to use the Hiri-Lai road because it’s shorter and is one-and-half hours drive to Mendi, cutting down on travelling time,” he said.

No comments could be obtained from the contractor or the district authorities.