Recent dead fish surfacing in the Markham and Watut rivers is a rare thing. Locals also report fish gills turning red and vegetation along the river is changing colour.
Locals also report a Kenworth truck carrying a container ran off the Mare bridge and landed in the river. MMJV company officials were on site and warned the people to stay away from the container because “it had dangerous chemicals inside”. This incident happened on February 2. Three days later company officials came with police and moved the container out of the river and took it back to Lae.
There were heavy rains soon after this incident.
Reports of dead fish, eels, of different age groups and recently of a crocodile came in a few days later.
If that is the truth coming from the voiceless people of Wampar and Labu, then what is David Wissink trying to hide. PNG government through its two departments(Mining/EnvCons) are using mainstream media propaganda in undermining the situation. Got reports from Labu key figures, the National Analysis Lab at UNITECH has been intructed not to release any information to anyone and are charging local Labu’s to pay certain amounts for water samples to be analysed. The people don’t want to utilise the facility since, the PNG government has been sensitive in trying to crush negative publicity for MMJV.
Has any scientific report been released yet?
At this point the communities of Wampar and Labu are left to speculate.
The company needs to complete its investigation to determine if there is a causal connection between the truck incident and the finding of dead fish in the river.
The PNG government needs to determine the cause the fish deaths.
The National Analysis Lab at UNITECH charges a fee to do this work.
If the Labu people don’t pay these fees they can’t have their samples tested.
The Labu people have decided not to use the UNITECH facility.
The opportunity to independently determine the cause of the fish deaths will be lost if any significant time is allowed to pass before sampling and testing
Don’t see that the company is hiding anything with this issue. I agree however that the regulators have got to pull up their socks to they can respond to such issues in a timely manner.
Bill
I think thats the whole problem
Otherwise there seems to be a presumption that any thing dead in the river was killed by cyanide!
You can see this uncertainty in peoples minds, it operates as a presumption rather than some thing based on science.
As they say up there Wesley – ol painim work stret!
I am a highlander but to share my view with our friends of Morobe esp.the dead aquatic life along Markham river and other tributaries.
Please it is a obvious case that all our decisions makers must be cautious of because we are dealing with the food-wed. Parliamentarians must step in to frankly investigate for the cause as it is serious and cooperate with the authorities concerned for with dealing with life and dead. Rich and poor; have and have not so I suggest we don’t expect another revolutionary disaster like in relation to Paguna.
Everything as its own solutions but the pragmatic solution to such incidence is people and not profit or wealth.
this is life concern so fight for steps with prayer so that those culprit in the system be guilty at one moment and deserve punishment before regret.