About 20 households that includes a farming community on Lakena Irrigation Road in Nausori have welcomed the recent improvements to the road.

Fulton Hogan Hiways (FHH) is working under the Fiji Roads Authority to implement its maintenance programme by providing road access to the Central, Northern and Eastern divisions.

Sunia Sevu, FHH worker on site, said that cars rarely used irrigation roads, but they were heavily relied on by farmers with vehicles for harvesting and transporting produce.

Sanjeeta Devi, from a rice farming family on Lakena Irrigation Road, expressed her delight with the upgrades said: “For the past 12 years that we’ve been living here, the road was in bad condition.

“When the product was ready, we faced problems taking it to the market.”

She said that previously, the road conditions made it difficult for children to get to school in bad weather.

Her son, Ayush Narayan, headboy and in Year 8 at Manoca Saraswati Primary, had hurt himself when he fell on the road that had deteriorated during a tropical depression earlier this year.

Mr Sevu said two segments of the road, 875 and 340 metres respectively, were upgraded.

The road is being widened, gravel being laid and the road shoulders cut to assist water run-off during wet weather.

Drainage along the roadside was improved, with excavators digging through sedimentary build-up and removing problematic vegetation.

“We are very happy that the roads are finally going to be better and hope they will maintain this in the future,” said Mrs Devi.

Feedback: jyotip@fijisun.com.fj