POSER ON MICRO-HEP: Tadam (right) and Frederick show pictures of the pipes that are supposed to be used for the micro-hydro electric project in Ba KelalanBA KELALAN: Lun Bawangs in Ba Kelalan are wondering when the government will actually start their micro hydro-electric project
They have waited long for the project but it has not taken off.
The project which is meant to benefit about 1,000 Buduk Nur and Long Langai villagers, was approved by the federal government to ease their dependence on diesel generators.
That is well and fine, but today the village development and security committee (JKKK) of Buduk Nur is unhappy because the contractor has yet to turn up in the highlands.
A member of the JKKK, Tadam Arun, said the government has allocated a big fund for the project and it should have taken off by now.
Accompanied by chairman of Sarawak Lun Bawang Association chiarman, Frederick Lalung Ngilo, he said optimism has turned into suspicion and scepticism in the two villages.
“What we saw are only pipes piled up in our area but there has been no signs of work starting and the villagers want to know what the problems are,” he said.
The villagers are willing to undertake it on ‘gotong-royong’ (voluntary communal) basis if the contractor is unwilling to proceed with the project.
Tadam, who is also PBB Ba Kelalan Youth secretary, said locals have yearned for the project for years so the delay was heart-breaking to them.
Electricity and roads have topped the list of their requests to every top government official.
He pointed out that the proposed mini hydroelectric dams at Kampung Buduk Nur and Long Langai are regarded as a lifeline and hence have long been part of the development plans for them.
The area also has a primary school and health clinic which could be powered by the micro-HEP dams.
Tadam also pointed to the water piping system which has failed since June last year. It has yet to be rectified. Locals are currently depending on their old gravity-feed water supply systems.
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