ROAD USERS OF SAPULUT-KALABAKAN ROAD APPEAL FOR IMPROVED ROAD CONDITIONS

Road users of Sapulut-Kalabakan road appeal for improved road conditions

NABAWAN 4th May, 2012: A huge number of vehicles of various makes were stranded for about five hours on Tuesday due to severe road erosion in the form of sinkholes appearing along the Sapulut-Kalabakan road close to Kg. Salarom Taka.

The sinkholes occurred along a section of the road over a year ago; but with no proper road maintenance work being carried out; the same problem kept reappearing.

From observations made by New Sabah Times at the scene, several vehicles either from Tawau or from Keningau and the area around Sepulut have found it difficult to make use the road during the rainy season as it becomes muddy and slippery.

Spokesperson for the residents, Mandaun Ampungit, said the bad road conditions have made it difficult for the people there, especially when there are sick people who require urgent treatment in a hospital.

Other than that, the residents there also could not bring out their agricultural produce because when it rains continuously, the road condition worsens.

Mandaun, who is also the Village Head of Kg. Salarom Taka, said, road users from the area are appealing to the authorities concerned to carry out proper maintenance of the road so that the appearance of sinkholes would not recur.

Meanwhile, several road users, when approached, claimed that the company tasked with the maintenance of the road had not undertaken the road maintenance properly, thus resulting in the repeated appearance of sinkholes along the road.

“If the company had done their maintenance work properly, the situation of road erosion with the appearance of sinkholes would not have recurred,” they said.

A spokesperson for the company however claimed that they were not able to carry out the road maintenance properly because of the high numbers of logging trucks operating on the road.

“Logging trucks that regularly travel on the road there has made our efforts to properly maintain the road difficult,” said one of the workers at the scene.

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Berpuluh kenderaan terkandas akibat jalan jerlus

NABAWAN 4th May, 2012: Berpuluh kenderaan pelbagai jenis terkandas kira-kira lima jam pada Selasa lepas akibat jalan jerlus di jalan Sepulut–Kalabakan berhampiran Kg. Salarom Taka.

Jalan yang sering jerlus itu sudah berlaku lebih setahun yang lalu namun ia tidak dapat diselenggarakan dengan baik menyebabkan kejadian jerlus itu berulang-ulang.

Tinjauan New Sabah Times di tempat kejadian mendapati kebanyakan kenderaan sama ada dari Tawau dan Keningau serta sekitar kawasan Sepulut sukar melalui jalan itu terutama pada musim hujan kerana keadaannya berlumpur dan licin.

Jurucakap penduduk Mandaun Ampungit berkata, keadaan jalan jerlus itu amat menyulitkan penduduk di kawasan itu terutama apabila ada penduduk yang sakit dan memerlukan rawatan segera di hospital.

Selain itu hasil tanaman penduduk juga tidak dapat dikeluarkan jika hujan berterusan kerana keadaan jalan jerlus itu bertambah teruk.

Mandaun yang juga Ketua Kampung Salarom Taka berkata, para pengguna di kawasan itu merayu kepada pihak yang berkenaan supaya membuat penyelenggaraan dengan sempurna agar kejadian jerlus tidak berulang.

Sementara itu beberapa pengguna jalan yang ditemui mendakwa, syarikat yang dipertanggungjawabkan menyelenggara jalan jerlus itu gagal menyelanggara dengan baik menyebabkan kejadian itu berulang.

“Jika kerja menyelenggara dilakukan dengan sempurna, sudah tentu keadaan itu tidak akan berulang,” kata mereka.

Namun jurucakap syarikat berkenaan mendakwa, mereka tidak dapat menyelanggara jalan jerlus itu dengan sempurna kerana ia sering dilalui oleh lori-lori balak.

“Lori-lori balak yang sering lalu di jalan ini mengganggu usaha kami untuk menyelenggarakan jalan itu dengan sempurna,” kata seorang pekerja yang ditemui di tempat lokasi berkenaan.