People living along the Utupia road at Poroma in Hela Province, have lifted a week-long roadblock, demanding compensation payment from Angore Landowners Association, due to a road accident.
A Grade 12 student from the Utupia area was killed in a hit-and-run incident in 2015, by a man from the Angore area.
The driver of the vehicle was alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol at the the time of the accident.
Last Friday, Hela PPC, Michael Welly, and the new Southern Highlands PPC, Joseph Tondop, held peace talks with relatives of the Grade 12 student, late Nason Philip, to restore normalcy along the Poroma-Magarima road in Hela Province.
So far the Utupia villages have impounded three vehicles belonging to Hela Provincial Government, and ten container trucks belonging to Trans Wonderland Limited, a trucking Company owned by Angore Landowners Association.
The relatives of the deceased boy have agreed to open the roadblock, but they will not release the vehicles unless their demands are met.
The Utupia villagers had demanded over K3 Million as a compensation payment to be paid by the Angore Landowners Association, for the death which occurred two years ago.
They have demanded 150 pigs for compensation and another 105 pigs, 12 goats, and K84,000 as ‘Bel Kol’, a sort of payment to keep peace between the warring groups before the compensation payment.
The Utupia villagers expressed their frustrations that since the death of Nason Philip, none of the representatives from the Angore Landowner group have attended their meetings to listen to their demands.
PPC’s Tondop and Welly assured the grieving relatives that both will fast track meeting with Angore Landowners to discuss the long standing compensation demands.
The Utupia people have cleared the roadblocks and promised not to harass vehicles and passengers traveling along the highway.
