Drainage at Lapok Bazaar to be improved
LAPOK: The rainy season has caused Lapok Bazaar to become muddy and dirty, accentuated by the inefficient drainage and continuous flow of vehicle traffic.
However, better days lie ahead for this rural town – located about oneand-half-hour’s drive from Miri – as the authorities are planning to improve its drainage and clear the mud away, says Assistant Minister for Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil.
“Lapok is very messy at the moment, particularly after the rain with water ponding on the road due to poor drainage. The whole town needs cleaning up,” he pointed out.
Dr Penguang, who is Marudi assemblyman, was asked on the wet and muddy road leading to this town, which had not only become an eyesore but posed health hazards.
He assured the local folk that things would improve when the Tinjar water treatment plant would become operational later this year.
“Things should be better once Lapok has treated water and electricity supply in the very near future,” he said.
The Borneo Post visited this town on Sunday. It is observed that the natives from the interior usually come to the town on Sunday to sell their farm and jungle produce as well as to buy groceries, fuel and other supplies.
Plantation workers also head here to replenish their supplies during the weekend, making it a thriving place every weekend.
The town serves the people of Tinjar, Teru and those from further inland.
It is also a short distance from Logan Bunut National Park, which is home to the largest natural inland lake in the state.
The natives yearn for a proper trading place to sell their produce ranging from wild ferns, bamboo shoots, ‘kechala’ and various species of freshwater fish.
“Perhaps, the authorities could put a roof over the space between the market and the adjacent shophouse so that these traders would not have to sell their produce under the hot sun,” said a woman trader from Ulu Teru, who declined to be named.
Concurring with her, Penguang said: “We will have to look into this matter urgently as the existing market is getting congested.”