Damaged And Hit Roads, Hundreds Of Residents In Bongan District, West Kutai Admit Very Difficult

Nearly 800 people from Deraya Village, Tanjung Soke, Gerunggung, and Lemper in Bongan District, West Kutai, East Kalimantan are isolated because access roads to their villages are damaged and vehicles cannot pass.

The damaged section is a 9-kilometer road from Deraya Village to Tanjung Soke, and 6 kilometers from Tanjung Soke to Gerunggung.

The road, which is still in the form of a dirt road, is currently a slippery and soft mud field. In the slippery section, residents slip, in the soft part, residents' vehicles, namely motorbikes, stuck unable to move, he said.

Only motorbikes with modifications can go through obstacles on the road, including motorbikes with tires that are fitted with chains or special tires for mud fields with rare developments as commonly used on trail motors.

"Never mind vehicles, walking is difficult. This condition has been going on for the last two years," said Bongan Tohir sub-district head, quoting Antara, Sunday, August 6.

According to Tohir, the condition got worse when the rain came. To bring basic needs, residents send them through the Mahakam River. However, if the river recedes, then transportation is cut off again.

"Even though the distance between these villages and the sub-district capital is approximately 20 km," said Tohir.

However, due to the reason for the closed access due to the damaged road, the four villages were included in the outermost, remote and disadvantaged areas.

Therefore, said Tohir, his party is looking for ways to open road access. The first step is to maintain and clean the road from Deraya Village and to Gerunggung Village for 15 km.