Ugik shows the collapsed Nai bridge.
SIBU: People living at Pasir Nai, Pala Wong Pelagus, Batang Rajang are appealing to the government to rebuild the Nai bridge which collapsed two years ago.
Ugik Jalit a Pasir Nai resident said the bridge gave the more than 400 people in the area a much safer route by land to Kapit town.
“The Nai bridge, once rebuilt will connect us to Kapit town by land with the traveling time of about one hour and 45 minutes,” he said.
Without the bridge Pasir Nai is only accessible by river which entails travelling through the turbulent treacherous rapids by boat, a journey which had claimed many lives
“The bridge collapsed in June 2018 due to high tide especially at Sungai Nai. Because of that, we have no choice but to use river transportation and go through Pelagus rapid.
“Apart from that rapid, we still have to go through another few rapids which are considered dangerous such as Batu Nabau rapid, Sukat rapid, Pantu rapid, Marom rapid and Lungga rapid.
Aside from the danger posed by the rapids travelling by land to Kapit will also cut down travelling cost.
“The travelling time using express boat is actually shorter which is between 45 minutes and one hour but passengers have to pay extra charges for the things they bring.
“Sometimes it could be more than RM100 extra charges per trip. The ticket fare is
RM30 per person (those without things).
“But, if we drive using that bridge, the return journey would only cost us RM100 and no extra charges for the items we bring,” he said.
Without the bridge, he added if anyone falls sick at the longhouse at night, they need to wait till morning to travel to Kapit town as it is too dangerous to go through the rapids at night using longboat and the passenger express boats only operate during daytime.
“We really urged the government to do something for the people at Pasir Nai. We want to have a more comfortable life and a safer travelling route,” he said.