ROAD LINK CUT OFF: A resident points at a section of the collapsed road.
KAPIT: Continuous heavy rain over the past few days caused three sections of Jalan Entaroh to collapse on Friday and Saturday.
Thousands of longhouse folk from Rumah Juntan, Rumah Mikal and Rumah Taing as well as several longhouses along Sungai Sut have been completely cut off by road.
The collapse has also affected SK Nanga Bena and the Nanga Bena clinic.
Rumah Mikai resident Mandi Kaau said the first stretch of road, completed in 2005, to collapse was near the Sungai Ngau Besai Bridge on Friday.
Yesterday morning, two more stretches of road at Bukit Sebelalang and near the Rumah Taing junction also collapsed.
“Previously without the road, transport to Kapit was very difficult and it was costly to travel down Sungai Sut and then the Baleh River. It’s such a tiring journey because of the long hours and also during the dry season the longboat has to cross choppy waters,” said Mandi.
“With the road, our lives have improved because it’s just an hour’s journey and now it is cheaper with the regular longhouse passenger van service daily. Also, with the road, land owners could develop their land for agriculture. Many vegetable farmers are now able to market their products in Kapit town to earn a living.”
He called on the government to repair the road quickly.
Upon receiving reports of the first collapse on Friday, senior officials from the Kapit Resident’s Office led by administrative officer Minggu Jampong, as well as representatives from the Public Works Department (JKR) and Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) — the company responsible for road maintenance, — investigated the extent of damage and erected warning signs to alert vehicles in the area.