Rompo Village Desperately Needs Clean Water

Palu, C Sulawesi, Oct 1 (ANTARA) - Local communities in Rompo village, Central Lore subdistrict, Poso district, Central Sulawesi Province, face a dire shortage of clean water at present. "When the locals need clean water, all they have is the river," said Zakaria, the Secretary of Rompo Village, here on Monday. He noted that the current population of the village was 400, and the villagers used the river`s water for drinking and cooking purposes because of the absence of any other source of clean water. The village government has repeatedly appealed to Poso district government for providing a source of clean water, but it has not received a response yet. "The Poso district government should pay attention to our need for an additional source of clean water because the river water gets dirty during the rainy season," Zakaria explained. He expressed hope that the local government would build clean water facilities in the village so Rompo villagers would not face difficulties in getting clean water. Rompo village is situated about 120 kilometres from Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi. Zakaria said the Poso district government should also immediately repair the damaged roads that connect the village with other towns and cities. "Rural roads from Wuasa village, the capital of South Lore subdistrict, to Doda Village, Central Lore subdistrict, are also badly damaged," he pointed out. "There are wallows now in many roads, so they need urgent attention from the local government," he stated. "If the roads are not fixed soon, things will get worse here," he added.