THE State Government has dispatched two boats to be used by school children in Kampung Nangkawangan, Nabawan on May 1, said State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong.
The boats were handed over by Nabawan District Officer Peter Jonu Moinjil to Kampung Nangkawangan Development and Security Committee (JPKK) Chairman Adok Kooh.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, on April 30, was reported as saying that the State Government has agreed to immediately approve funding to provide boats to be used by affected villagers and school children in Kampung Nangkawangan and nearby villages to get across the river pending construction of new suspension bridges.
This was following several viral videos showing school children crossing the river using a makeshift “zipline” to reach SK Nangkawangan.
The children were also seen getting across the river on a makeshift raft by themselves.
Daily Express reported earlier that some 27 pupils of SK Nangkawangan have used risky methods to cross the river to go to the primary school on a daily basis since March.
The suspension bridges in the area were damaged due to heavy flooding in March and the villagers decided to solve the problem themselves.
Meanwhile, Safar said they had dismantled the makeshift zipline.
“The State Government is also looking into speeding up the construction of new suspension bridges in the affected area,” he said.
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