Peceli emailed that his friends did get through from Savusavu, in a four-wheel drive but had problems on the way because of the landslides. 'Joy and Andrew arrived at 1 30 pm in Vatuadova after a long delay in the Korosomo slope where the whole mudslide and the break in the tar-sealed road for abour 50 metres or more long is totally unusable. It has been a long queue of cars, trucks and buses were directed to use the Naduri Road going throught Nabala, Sasa, Korotuvu, Yalava, and to catch up with Tabia Road.
'When they arrived they were officially welcome and the Nau Kisi and ladies given them a light refreshments. After that we went to Nukutatava and it was a bad muddy road close to the beach. But fortunately they had a RAV four wheel drive that made the journey possible wherever they wanted to go.' The picture is of the visitors with Dakai and others crossing the rocks at high tide.
Labasa's journalist SERAFINA SILAITOGA wrote about the roads in today's Fiji Times.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
At 8am yesterday, about 100 metres of the Seaqaqa highway collapsed six metres down.
Acting Director Roads North Joji Mate said some PWD workers were dispatched to keep the public off the damaged portion of the highway."We are working on that area now and also putting up a diversion for vehicles to use instead of going through the coastal road at Naduri.
"That new road should be completed by this evening (yesterday) or tomorrow (today)," he said. Acting Director National Roads Paula Baleilevuka said it would take them the first quarter of this year to repair the fallen portion of the highway because of the process involved such as calling for tenders and complying with financial procedures.
Mohammed Salim, a carrier driver from Savusavu, said one side of the road started dropping at about 4am when he drove pass. "When I came through this morning to go to Labasa, the left side of the road was lower then the right side but by a few centimeters and we could still tell a difference," Mr Salim said.
"When I came back to return to Savusavu after 8am, the road was totally down by about two metres and as we stood there, we saw it go even further down to about six metres, which was dangerous."
Motorists had to use the Naduri coastal road to get to their destinations while bus passengers remained on the main highway, getting off on one side of the road, unloading their luggage and carrying it to the other end walking through bushes, on the side of the damaged portion.
But Macuata district rep Vereti Veisamasama said 10-wheeler trucks and buses that used the coastal road also got stuck after their tires got bogged in the muddy soil.
"This morning (yesterday) we came through that road and trucks, carriers and buses were stuck on the road as the condition is also bad," he said.
Edwin Chand, a director of the biggest bus owner in the division, Parmod Buses, said the PWD should quickly fix the coastal road because the situation could cause great inconvenience to the travelling public.
G'day or should I say Bula Sia. I have just returned from Vanua Levu having spent a lovely month with freinds in the various villages and settlements on Udu Point. Getting back to Labasa from Wainigadru was something of a trial - at least for those who took the bus. As I had a plane to catch I hired a twincab, thank goodness as The bus took 9 hours to do the trip and I was told the passangers had to pull the bus ten times! While visiting that part of Fiji is fantastic, there is no doubt that a little bit more roadwork could be done. As I usually go to Fiji around vakatawase time getting back to Labasa (a town incidently I am very fond of) is always a frought exeperience. This time the road closures caused considerable hardship for those up the coast as school fees were due and it was difficult if not impossile for them to sell (or dry for that matter) their Yaqona. For all the hassles of getting there, I do love the peace and freindship that can be found in the freindly north. Anyway thanks for your blog and filling me in as to the situation in Vanua Levu, which is seldom reported upon in the Times or Fiji Village.
ReplyDeleteKind regards,
Andrew
Bula sia Andrew. What a long way to go - to Udu. We know a few people from there but I've never been there.
ReplyDeleteI do feel sorry for people trying to make a living when trying to transport their vegetables to a market and it is near impossible. But these rural people are tough and persist and pray a lot! Even the good highway from Savusavu to Labasa was so bad in places that trucks could not get through on Saturday. I read that the ferry probably took the trucks back to Suva again!
w.