By Theckla Gunga – EMTV News, Port Moresby
Over 15 families in the Moresby North-West electorate, have been living with bad stenches coming from a sewerage leakage for over 20 years.
Nicolas Natera, a longtime resident at Gerehu Stage Two, says the bad odor has become worse in the last four weeks.
This has forced the Natera family to close up all windows and stay indoors when preparing or having meals.
The concern on continuous leakages of sewerage pipes at Nikibata and Idu Streets and Agolo Crush at Gerehu Stage Two used to be addressed by individual homes nearby.
But the communities are speaking up about the lack of attention given by authorities in addressing the issue.
It has become a common sight, to see leakages in the sewage system around this area and is happening more frequently.
For long-time resident Nicholas Natera and his family, cleaning up their backyard every two months, after a blockage, has become an unacceptable norm.
It has affected the family’s way of life, especially during meals and when sleeping at night.
Over the years, the family has become weary of cleaning up human waste.
Recently, a blockage resulted in a backflow of human waste pouring into the Natera’s residence.
The mess has left the family frustrated over the delay in the authority’s response to this health hazard
About 200 meters away from the Natera’s resident’s, there was another sewage blockage and inside the yard, another long-time resident has dug up his back-yard, to try to contain the bad smell from another sewage blockage.
In Port Moresby, Eda Ranu is responsible to clear up such blockages, however, they are yet to respond to this matter.
