Vehicles travelling in and out of Madang Province are having a hard time getting through thick mud and slippery roads during this wet weather.
The toughest is getting past Gawar Market and the Iguruwe section of the highway onto Lae or the Highlands provinces.
Police officers from Madang and Walium had been patrolling that section of the road making sure travelers are getting through safely, and assisting vehicles where they can.
According to passengers and police officers frequenting this highway, the road needs a machine to divert rain water to the side of the road so that the main road is dry and easy to pass through.
A passenger who was travelling from Madang to Lae said the bus he was traveling in, could not get through the thick mud and slippery road. The bus crew had to ask its female passengers and children to walk on to a dry area, while the men and young boys helped the bus crew to push the vehicle. The bus was transporting people from Madang to Lae and they wanted to get there early. The passenger said most of the buses that had been travelling from Madang to that section of the road had to help the bus crews to push their vehicles, especially upward towards dryer ground.
Madang Provincial Police Commander Mazuc Rubiang also issued instructions to his officers to patrol that section of the road because of continuous robberies. He said vehicles travelling along that section of the highway have been encouraged to travel together, or convoy so they can help each other if they come across any trouble.
Rubiang said after a gang of thieves involved in a string of robberies along the highway were arrested by police a week ago, there’s been no reports of crime along the highway. PPC Rubiang said this does not mean that passengers and bus crews should let their guard down. There are still criminals or crime opportunists still out there and so travelers must still be on high alert all the time.