This is what remains of the nine-year-old wooden bridge that was used by folk from the four villages to get to their farms and to school.
PITAS: Four villages in Pitas, namely Kampung Sg Eloi, Kg Pogil, Kg Kuyu and Kg Monsuvit are pleading with the government to construct a new bridge for them after the last one they had was carried away by floodwaters.
G6 chairman Mastupang Somoi said that they need the bridge so that they can carry on with their normal lives — go to their rubber farm, to the paddy field, and for school children to be able to go to school at SK Datong.
“Our community really needs a new bridge, preferably one made of steel and concrete,” said Mastupang when contacted by the The Borneo Post.
He said that the last bridge they had, a wooden one, lasted only nine years before it was swept away by the raging waters that came down from the surrounding hills.
“This is our sixth wooden bridge. We also had a suspension bridge built once,” he said.
And because past experiences have taught the villagers the frailty of having wooden bridges and a suspension bridge, they are now asking for something stronger which would hopefully last longer, he said.
Along with the bridge, the villagers also asked that a jetty be constructed alongside since the inhabitants of the four villages are fishermen as well as farmers.
“When it rains, we cannot go and tap our rubber trees, so we go out to sea. But it is not feasible to go out to sea now because of the wavy condition. So basically, we are stuck,” he said.
He added that they have yet to receive the latest food basket assistance, citing that there were roughly about 1,000 people living in the four villages.
“We are short of food, particularly rice. We will be grateful if we could have some rice,” he said.
Mastupang also shared that their wooden bridge collapsed and was swept away during the heavy flooding on Monday and Tuesday.
“Now, to get to the other side, we have to use boats. Some of the boats belonging to our villagers have also been swept away by the strong current, while some were heavily damaged. Only a few were salvaged,” he said.
He added that the flood waters rose to over three feet from the river of Sg Eloi.
In the recent flood, six villages were affected by the flood — Kg Sg Eloi, Kg Manggis, Kg Datong, Kg Kuyu, Kg Monsuvit and Kg Pogil.
“Flooding is quite a common occurrence here,” he said.
“We hope the present Public Works Minister, Dato Seri Bung Moktar Radin would come to our rescue because our bridge has been destroyed and carried off by the flood,” he said.